Needles
by JMLHCPKSfan
Summary: Logan, Carlos, James, and Kendall are the only ones of their kind- humans with bird wings. Ever since meeting and finding that they are literally made to be paired together, they vowed to protect one another. But when they are blackmailed into being lab rats, there is only so much they can do to protect their friends and mates from the horrors of science.
1. Pilot

**Hi! Thanks for giving this a chance, I know it seems weird, but trust me it'll be epic. The people who read "Feathers" know that. But if you didn't read "Feathers", this story connects to the end of that story- it's a sequel. I know it's a pain to read the first story before this, so I won't make you. I'll try to explain everything in this chapter so you won't have to. :D**

* * *

_(Recap)_

_What Kendall and Logan heard was the faintest of noises, that even their sharp senses could barely hear. There were two people in the house- Katie and Mrs. Knight. So why did they hear a third set of footsteps?_

_They both moved at the same time, bolting for the house. Kendall jerked on the door, but was locked. There was NO extra key, because Mrs. Knight was afraid of intruders. The gate to the back yard was locked, too._

_"IT'S LOCKED!" Kendall said in a panic._

_"Stand back." Logan said, and Kendall, along with the now-joining James and Carlos, stood back. Logan pulled back a leg and brought it forward in a powerful kick that was supposed to bring the door down. Instead, Logan's leg nearly snapped and he fell backward into Carlos._

_Kendall was already gone, flying to the roof where the upstairs windows were._

_He scrambled to every window, seeing nobody. Not even Katie. He finally dropped to see James searching the windows of the downstairs part._

_"Where are they?" Carlos squeaked. And yet again Logan's and Kendall's heads cocked and their fingers shot out._

_"A van." Logan stated, and he and Kendall took off running, James and Carlos following. Kendall took flight first, raiding the area for a van. It was hard to spot, even with his heightened sense of sight, but he spotted a whit van driving through the snow. He didn't wait for the others to catch up before he began torpedoing toward the van. He had a feeling that van was significant._

_His wings were cold, his joints stiff, so it was hard for Kendall to land on the roof of the van effectively. But he did, and as soon as he did he peered into the windshield._

_Ice filled Kendall's stomach and his heart stopped at what he saw next. Vincent was driving the van- a malicious grin on his face. And behind him were Katie and Mrs. Knight, tied up and gagged, looking at Kendall in a panic._

_A sharp left right turn was taken and Kendall went skidding off of the van and onto the snowy road, rolling with the momentum._

_The blond laid there, eyes wide, shivering._

_Vincent had Mama Knight and Katie. What were his plans? Kendall couldn't let them get hurt._

_It took only a minute for the others to catch up._

_"Oh my god. Are you hurt?" James asked, getting to his knees and petting Kendall's hair._

_"Probably."_

_"What happened?" Logan asked._

_And so Kendall told them about who was in the car. And all eyes were wide in terror by the end of it. No longer were there goofy smiles and lion-cub-like playing. It was all serious now._

_"I thought he was in jail!" James squeaked._

_"He was," Logan nodded. "What the hell is going on?"_

_"What if he does the same thing to them as he did to me?" Kendall asked, eyes wide._

_"Don't worry. We'll get them back," Carlos assured. "No matter what it takes."_

* * *

Kendall shivered, sitting on the bed in his blanket, so many thoughts roaming through his mind.

"Are you still cold?" James asked, sitting on the bed and rubbing where Kendall's arms were beneath the blanket.

"No, I just- I'm worried." Kendall explained, looking up helplessly at his boyfriend.

James knew exactly what Kendall was worried about. Kendall's evil father, who SHOULD have been in jail, had kidnapped his mother and little sister. Vincent, Kendall's dad, had been put in jail for doing illegal experiments on humans, just a few months ago. How was he out? And what was his plan for Mrs. Knight and Katie? Kendall didn't even care- he was just reunited with his family after fifteen years of living in a laboratory, and he was determined to do what it took to get them to safety.

"I know me too. But Logan's getting stuff together and we're gonna be leaving ASAP," James assured. "Sure your wing isn't broken?"

Kendall got up and dropped the blanket. He was bruised up from being thrown off of the top of Vincent's van, which contained Mrs. Knight and Katie, all tied up and gagged, and into the snow. But what worried Carlos, Logan, and James the most was the pain in Kendall's left wing.

Now at the home he and his friends and family had been living in since the reunion, the blond spread his wing out for his boyfriend to inspect. James stepped forward to run his fingers lightly over the light brown and white feathers then gently touch several places of the huge bone in the wing. Kendall hissed in pain a few times, but didn't flinch.

"It hurts, but I flew here- I can make it." Kendall assured.

"Are you sure? I could carry you." James said, worried. It wouldn't have been a hard task for James to fly with Kendall in his arms- Kendall's bones were hollow and he weighed less than a hundred and twenty pounds because of it. James, however, had the body of a normal nineteen-year-old, and the muscles of a man in a mine. Not to mention the strength in James' ash-grey wings, which developed by carrying the heavy boy around in the air.

"I'll be fine." Kendall smiled a little to his scientifically perfect boyfriend. In an experiment, Kendall and James were literally made for each other, with compatible genes and hormones. They weren't attracted to anyone else on earth but each other, and the experiment proved that homosexuality could be scientifically triggered.

Meanwhile, Logan was downstairs stuffing food into a backpack frantically. His migraine was already taking affect and his stomach hurt like hell. It was because he had been away from Carlos for so long. It always had this effect on him. It didn't help that Carlos could potentially be in danger. After Logan, Carlos, and James caught up to Kendall after the blond was thrown from the van, Carlos flew after the van and was determined to follow it to its destination. It was Logan's job to find Carlos and lead the others to wherever Mrs. Knight and Katie were.

Logan was born a bird kid- engineered in the womb to be a lethal weapon, with no weaknesses. It wasn't until he was eighteen years old that they decided he needed a weakness, something that they could use against him to get him to do what they want. And thus Carlos was taken from his orphanage and was given wings. They were literally opposites, Logan having a dark complexion, dark attitude, and dark wings and Carlos being bubbly and fun, Latino, with powder white wings. Now Carlos was Logan's everything- the only person in the whole world that Logan was sexually attracted to, and vice-versa. Like James and Kendall, their genetic makeup and hormones were tampered with to make the two literally made for each other. The only person in the whole world who could kill Logan Mitchell was Carlos- and all he had to do was tell him to die. Carlos truly was Logan's only weakness- not just mentally and emotionally, but physically, too. And now it's been almost an hour since they've seen each other and Logan's head was pounding, stomach churning. His body physically NEEDED Carlos' presence. And right now there was just a pull in his chest, pointing to his right. That's where Carlos was. Logan had an eternal compass leading him to Carlos, and vice-versa. James and Kendall shared the same bond.

"Ready?" James said strongly as he and Kendall hurried into the kitchen. He knew Kendall was weak because of the situation and Logan was weak without Carlos (emotionally, at least) so he had to be the strength of the group.

"More than you know." Logan sighed, turning and slinging the backpack over his shoulder and looping it over his other arm to set the backpack across his torso, as not to interrupt his wings in flight.

James and Kendall followed him to the door, where Logan hurried out into the cold California mountain air and snow. They lived in the mountains because it was private and a huge house, so they needed a huge place to put it. Plus Kendall's father was a rich scientist, so he had plenty of money to build a house for him, his wife, and daughter- Kendall having lived in a lab most of his life while his mother and sister thought he "died in a fishing accident".

"You're sure you can fly?" James asked, unsure.

"I'm positive."

"If it's too painful, I've got you."

"I know." Kendall smiled a little and took a running start before kicking off the ground and spreading his magnificent wings, beating them down and carrying him into the air. His left wings hurt like hell, but he was on a mission. No time for boo-hoo's.

Logan was glad that the Pull lead him off of the mountain and into the warm California air. They hadn't brought their coats because they knew they'd have to ditch them if it came to that. He wished they had cell phones, because even though Logan knew where Carlos was, he had no idea if Carlos was caught and killed or was okay. The suspense was killing him, and so was having to wait for the others to catch up.

* * *

Carlos knelt behind the huge "O" in the Hollywood sign, staring in awe as Kendall's mother and sister were unloaded, bodies limp and eyes closed, from the van. Were they dead? He wished the guys would get here soon- he knew Logan and his "brother", Kendall wouldn't approve of Carlos going after them by himself.

Vincent, the man Carlos recognized as Kendall's biological father, took a key from his pocket and knelt before the end of the horizontal line in the first huge white "L". It only took seconds before Vincent pulled open a little door, about three feet tall and two feet wide. Carlos' eyes widened. A secret door in the "L" of the Hollywood sign? Genius. But where did it lead to?

"I'm gonna leave this key right here in the keyhole, Carlos!" Vincent called as he passed Katie's body to someone inside the door and she disappeared. Carlos' stomach iced over. Vincent knew he was there? But how? Carlos stayed far enough behind the van to be out of sight and he was completely silent! And this was obviously a trap. If Vincent wanted Carlos to follow him and knew Carlos was there, but didn't do anything about it, then something was fishy.

After Mrs. Knight's body disappeared, too, Vincent climbed into the door, which was closed behind him.

"Pst!" Came a whisper from above, and Carlos' head snapped up to see James atop the "O", then Logan's and Kendall's heads appeared. It was then that he realized that he knew that they were there. "Get up here!"

Carlos obeyed, kicking off of the dusty ground and allowing his powder white wings to carry him up to the others.

Logan immediately hugged him and kissed his cheek, relieved that his boyfriend appeared unharmed, because he would have killed the bastard who hurt his little Latino.

"What happened?" Kendall asked, coming back to his usual strong, leader self. Carlos turned to them and Logan hooked an arm protectively around his waist, looking around to be sure nobody would snatch him.

"There's a door on the side of the 'L'," Carlos said, "And Katie and Mama Knight were either unconscious or- never mind," he didn't want to scare Kendall by bringing up the possibility that they were dead, "And they were taken into that door. Guys- he knew I was there. He said he'd leave the key for me."

Carlos shivered at the thought of that, making Logan pull him closer.

"Well… What now?" James asked Kendall, who was looking out at the scenery of California, obviously deep in thought.

"We have to go in that door." Kendall said simply.

"What? No way. It's a trap." Logan said, voice strong.

"Yeah, I get that," Kendall retorted, "But what else are we gonna do? There's no other way to get them back."

"It's way too dangerous." James said sternly.

"Then you guys stay here." Kendall murmured. This changed the look in James' eyes from stern to gentle.

"No way. I almost lost you once."

"Why don't I just go?" Logan offered. "I'm invincible to them."

"But it's MY family." Kendall argued.

"Then we can both go."

Kendall hesitated, looking up at James. James looked a little scared at the idea, but he trusted Kendall's judgment. And they all knew they were pretty much safe from death when it came to Vincent- they were all part of one of his sick experiments, and much too important to kill.

"Okay." Kendall nodded with finality.

"Kendall!" James groaned.

"Logan's got my back," Kendall said sternly. "And it's better than any one of us going alone. There's no reason for you and Carlos to risk getting hurt. I know Logan would feel better knowing Carlos was safe with you."

James sighed and nodded.

"Careful." Carlos sang, not too worried about Logan because he knew Logan couldn't die without Carlos saying so. Well, unless his head was chopped off or something.

"Always am." Logan smiled, giving Carlos a few sweet kisses before turning away.

"Pit?" Carlos called, calling Logan his old nickname he gave the boy long ago, after the video game character named Pit, who apparently looked a lot like Logan. Logan turned back to see Carlos holding out a little short, fuzzy white feather, obviously plucked from the top of Carlos' wing. "For the aches and pains. I'll be here when you get back."

Logan smiled and took the feather, carefully putting it in his pocket.

Just a few feet away, James and Kendall were also saying their goodbyes.

"Be careful, Kendall. I'm serious. No screwing around or trying to beat people up. Just see what the deal is and come back." James said sternly, hugging Kendall. He got a little overprotective of Kendall sometimes, just as the other boys got with their partners.

"It's fine, Jamie." Kendall soothed, pulling back to kiss his boyfriend. "Logan's got my back."

"I know."

"Make sure you take care of my bubby, okay?" Kendall smirked.

"I will."

Kendall patted James' back before dropping off of the huge letter after Logan. Strangely enough, he wasn't scared at all. Logan had this aura about him… He seemed dark and mysterious and angry and aggressive, but he also made anyone who was with him feel safe. Sure, he acted like he hated everyone but Carlos, but Kendall knew Logan had his back. Logan liked to play it off like if he let his little Latino's "brother", Kendall, or his best friend, James, die on his watch, Carlos would be destroyed. But Kendall knew Logan just had a bit of a soft spot in there for Kendall and James.

"Don't be nervous," Logan said, surprising Kendall with the reassurance. "And if worse comes to worst, leave me behind. I'll be fine."

Kendall nodded nervously and Logan nodded, too, before they approached the door.

Logan reached out and turned the key, a loud shifting and grating sound wafting from the door before it popped open by itself. Kendall glanced at Logan and was relieved to see no hesitation as he pulled the door open and looked inside as a wave of lights flipped on and the entrance was lit.

But besides the entrance, there were no further lights.

"Down there," Kendall whispered, leaning forward to look down at a pitch dark tube with a latter leading downward. Without hesitation, Logan turned and stuck a leg down to meet the first wrung of the ladder. "Logan! It's dark- shouldn't we get a flashlight?"

"Don't be a pussy, Kendall. C'mon," Logan said flatly as his other leg disappeared into the abyss, "Shut the door behind you."

It was only a matter of seconds before Logan was completely in the tunnel, climbing down the metal ladder and coaxing Kendall in after him. Finally Kendall did, and shut the door behind him.

"Holy shit." Kendall whispered as the door was shut and the lights turned off, leaving the boys in the complete darkness.

"It's fine." Logan whispered, but he was a little nervous. He wasn't used to not being able to see- his enhanced eyesight normally allowed him to at least make out dim figures in the dark. But he couldn't see anything in this tunnel, and he knew that freaked Kendall out a hundred times more than himself.

* * *

Carlos and James laid atop the huge "O", staring at the sky. Their boyfriends were gone, and they couldn't help but worry.

"Are you worried?" James asked.

"Nah. Pit's a badass- he's got this. Are you?" Carlos answered.

"A little. Kendall's vulnerable right now- his head's not on straight."

"But Pit's got his back. Don't worry about Kendall." Carlos assured.

"But now 'Pit' doesn't have OUR backs." James reminded his best friend.

"We'll be fine. They're only gonna be gone for a little bit."

"Oh poor, naïve little bird boys." Came a voice from above them. Suddenly Carlos was grabbed by the throat and carried up, held above the ground by a huge guy. Carlos, shocked, clawed at the hand as his windpipe was crushed, and James jumped to his feet, eyes wide.

Carlos' dark, helpless eyes turned to his friend as the huge man held him.

"Hey! Get the FUCK off of him!" James growled.

"What're you gonna do, bird brain?" the man snorted.

James couldn't control his instincts. His hand shot out to cup around the man's throat and easily push forward. He was surprised at how easily the man fell to the floor and left Carlos sprawling toward the edge of the "O". At the last moment, Carlos caught himself and pulled himself up with the help of the beat of his wings.

But James was already on the man, easily fifty pounds heavier and six inches taller than him, trying to choke the life out of him.

The man's huge meaty hand reached up and closed around the bases of James' wings, slinging the boy off of him and skidding. James immediately recuperated and got to his feet, he and Carlos charging at the huge guy.

"Stronger than you look, aren't you?" the man said grimly as he brought both boys down with a simple swipe of the foot. With that, a gun was taken out.

"Say goodnight, assholes." He said evilly, Carlos watching as the gun was pointed to his heart.

"NO!" James roared. He had promised Kendall that he would protect Carlos, and that's what he planned to do. But as he sat up to swat the gun away, it was turned on him and the trigger was pulled. A searing pain in his shoulder alarmed James, and he looked down to see a long dart with red fluff at the end.

"Fuck." He grumbled, and everything went black. The man then turned the gun on Carlos, whose eyes were wide and fearful, and shot a tranquilizer into his shoulder.

* * *

Logan and Kendall ascended the ladder slowly, a foot feeling around for the next wrung before they put their weight on it. Logan whispered now and then to warn Kendall of a slippery step or a sharp piece of metal poking out, as well as a bit of assurance. Other than that, the only sound was their feet connecting with metal and their light breathing.

They climbed down for a good twenty minutes, every breath getting just a bit harder to take in as they climbed deeper and deeper beneath the ground. Finally Logan's foot hit solid ground.

"Okay, I'm on the ground." Logan whispered, letting go of the ladder and feeling around. He didn't have time to warn Kendall that there wasn't enough room for both of them before the blond was also on the ground. Logan was pressed against the wall uncomfortably, Kendall squishing him.

"Oh- sorry. Lemme find the ladder again." Kendall whispered. After feeling around for a bit, he climbed back up the ladder a little to give Logan room to feel for a door of some sort.

Logan's hands ran lightly all over the walls, feeling that they were actually in a square tube. Finally he felt a seem, which he followed to a hinge. After just a few seconds, his fingers swapped around a door knob.

"I found a knob." Logan whispered.

"Well… Open the door." Kendall whispered.

Logan nodded and took as deep a breath he could in the low altitude before turning it and pulling.

Immediately, light poured into the tunnel and Logan was blinded for a second as his eyes adjusted.

"Why didn't you take the elevator?" A grim, and all-too-familiar voice asked. Logan blinked against the light as his eyes adjusted and focused on the asshole himself, Vincent.

The asshole who was Kendall's father and "took him fishing" when he was four. Really he brought Kendall, his own son, to a lab and did these horrible things to him to make him a bird kid. Screwed with his hormones and genes and even hollowed out his bones. The man told his own wife that Kendall had drowned in the lake, and his body couldn't be found. He was the evil mastermind behind all the shit Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos had been though, and only a few months ago was he busted and put in jail. It was still a mystery to the boys as to how he was out.

Kendall's heart stopped when he heard the voice. He considered going back up the ladder and leaving Logan behind, but knew that would do no good. Then what would happen to Logan, his mom, and Katie?

"Did you bring my son with you?" Vincent asked the wide-eyed Logan. Logan nodded slowly and Vincent backed away. "Then please- come in."

* * *

**Okay, that's a good place to leave off. :D**

**I hope you liked the pilot to this story and you keep reading! Make sure to review and let me know what you think. And I'm totally open to experiment ideas.**


	2. This Isn't Me

**Yes, I changed the title. I wanted it to fit with the first title, which was "Feathers", so I wanted this one to be simple and summarizing, too. Thus, "Needles".**

**Sorry this and all my other stories are late. I have school now, plus band. But I usually update in bulk, cause I work on everything at once. When I hit a block in one story, I just move on to the other one. But you guys get it- most of you are in high school, too. And band.**

**Theweirdblond:** **Actually, I liked a lot of your ideas. :D If I use one of yours, I'll try to remember to give you credit, but if I don't you can totally just bitch me out for stealing your ideas. :D**

**And this chapter get sort of graphic. I'm not sure if I want to go Rated M for this one, probably should because not only might there be sex, but also kind of brutality. This chapter is really weird, but it's a preview for sort of what all the other ones will be like.**

* * *

Logan stepped out of the tiny door and onto a shiny concrete floor, looking around. It was a huge room, filled with metal tables and surgical utensils. The overwhelming smell of anti-septic practically punched Logan in the face as he looked around. There was a hallway at the end of the room to the right, which was dark. Two or three people in lab coats hurried around with clip boards and samples of all kinds.

"What the hell is this?" Logan whispered.

"THIS is back-up. Our top-secret bird kid lab," Vincent said evilly. "C'mon out, son!"

Kendall slowly emerged from the door, eyes wide. Logan instinctively pulled the boy behind him, and Kendall allowed it.

"How're you out of PRISON?" Logan questioned.

"Where're Mom and Katie?" Kendall interrupted.

"How about we walk and talk?" Vincent asked grimly, turning to the hallway and walking. Logan glanced back at Kendall before following the man.

"I think you kids are forgetting that I'm a GENIUS. It shouldn't be a surprise that I got out of jail," Vincent shrugged. "It was easy, really. With those pea-brain guards, I could have killed everyone in that place and they wouldn't notice."

The man flipped a light switch and a wave of lights turned on, revealing a long corridor of about fifty feet, which ended in a huge metal door.

"You know, I loved Jennifer. I really did. And Katie- how could I not love her? She was a little bitch, but she was my baby girl. So I'm gonna make a deal with you." The three men passed black door after black door, all with windows peering into dark rooms.

"Where are they?" Kendall growled, not liking the usage of his "father's" past-tense verb usage.

"Right here," Vincent stopped in front of a big black door, which had a Plexiglas window in it. Logan looked in, and Kendall looked over his head.

Inside was a simple white, brick room of about eight by eight. And there sprawled out in the center was Katie Knight, gagged with a handkerchief and found to a chair. Her dark eyes widened in panic when she saw her brother and Logan, and she struggled against her bonds and attempted to cry out.

"KATIE!" Kendall yelled, reaching for a knob. It was then that he realized that there were no doorknobs. On anything but the door that the boys entered the lab through.

"You bastard! Let her go!" Logan yelled at Vincent, suddenly in the man's face.

"Not until AFTER we've made out deal."

Kendall pounded on the window desperately, watching as fat tears rolled down his baby sister's cheeks. Her eyes looked like those of an injured deer's, which was about to be shot in the head.

"THAT'S YOUR OWN DAUGHTER, YOU SON OF A BITCH! SHE'S ONLY A KID!" Kendall screeched, still clawing at the door.

"Obviously that doesn't faze me, son. Just look what I did to YOU," Vincent chuckled. "And besides. She's fifteen years old. Just old enough to lose her innocence."

Suddenly Kendall whirled around and tackled his father to the floor.

"YOU TOUCH HER I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Do it! I dunno what's holding you back," Vincent challenged.

"WHERE'S MOM?" Kendall demanded.

"If you'd get the fuck off of me, I'd be glad to show you where she is," Vincent said calmly. Logan pulled Kendall to his feet without even waiting, and held him back.

The next door over was the one that had Mrs. Knight in it. Logan held Kendall back, peering in himself before allowing his friend to follow. Mrs. Knight was in the same position as Katie was, except her head was sagged forward and her chest just barely rose and fell.

"It's deal time," Vincent said once Kendall was finished pounding on the door and clawing at the hinges, sitting on the floor in exhaustion. The blond's head snapped up, and so did Logan's.

"I'll let your precious Mommy go," Vincent began slowly, "BUT."

"But what?" Logan demanded.

"But you and your little gang have to stay here with Katie."

"What? That's not even fair!" Kendall snapped, jumping up. "You have to let Katie go, too."

"I will- eventually. All of your things are being removed from the house as we speak- all evidence that you and your friends were ever there. If you agree to stay, we'll wipe Jennifer's memory completely- all the way back to when you called her from the pay phone. She'll think that Katie is on vacation with a friend. Thus no emotional pain on her end. And, once I'm finished with our Katie in approximately nine months, give or take a few, I'll do the same with her."

"What do you need with Katie?" Logan asked.

"A fertile human egg supply." Vincent shrugged.

"And if we don't agree to this sick plan?" Kendall challenged.

"Fine. But I'll kill each and every one of you. I've got guards at every corner of this place who have plenty of neck-snapping experience. That includes you, your precious James, Carlos, Logan, your Mommy, and Katie."

Kendall was silent.

"And what if I snap your neck first?" Logan growled. Vincent just chuckled evilly and shook his head.

"Go ahead. But I've got a gun pressed to your precious Carlos' head as we speak," Vincent pointed down the corridor, all the way to the end. Logan sprinted down to the last door on the right, skidding to a halt when he saw Carlos strapped to a chair, head limp and tilted all the way back, gagged with a huge man with a gun to his head. The man had an earpiece in, which he cocked his head toward before evilly turning his huge head to Logan and waving grimly.

"NO!" Logan screamed, slamming himself into the door, sure he shattered the whole right side of his body. "FUCK YOU! FUCK! YOU!"

Kendall arrived at the sight, eyes wide at the scene. It wasn't long before he was doing the same. It wasn't until he realized that if Logan couldn't enter, it was impossible, that Kendall actually thought.

So somehow they captured Carlos. And James was with Carlos…

"Where's James?" Kendall asked coldly, not looking back at his father. Vincent was silent, so Kendall turned and stormed his way. "WHERE. THE. FUCK. IS. JAMES?"

"He's already being improved," Vincent shrugged indifferently.

"Improved," Kendall repeated, stopping.

"Because I know you're too weak to turn down this offer. Shall I show you?"

Kendall followed Vincent to the door all the way at the end of the hallway, the huge metal one. Vincent stopped, pressed a button on a control pad on the wall beside the door, and allowed a bright blue light to scan his eye. The door popped open with a metallic grind and they entered. Kendall glanced back and saw that Logan was much too busy staring at Carlos in defeat to follow, so he entered with the door closing tight behind him.

"Here he is," Vincent said cheerfully, stopped before a long metal table. Kendall knew that type of table was only used for one thing.

His body froze up as he saw his boyfriend, naked and strapped down to the table, ash-grey wings spread to full span and strapped down. An oxygen tube was taped beneath his nose, an IV in his arm, and two doctors with masks over their faces surrounding him, poking him with needles.

"They're injecting him with yet MORE hormones," Vincent said excitedly.

"What kind of hormones?"

"The horny kind," Vincent shrugged. "How else will we get him to fuck your sister?"

Kendall couldn't control his legs lunging, his hands wrapping around Vincent's neck banging the man's head into the concrete as they reached the floor.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

There was a sting in the back of his right shoulder, and everything went black.

* * *

Kendall woke to the sound of someone being shushed and whispered to quietly.

His eyes opened with a lot of difficulty and fluttered a few times before focusing on Logan sitting on a bed across the room, Carlos in his lap, still limp. Kendall groaned and moved his head, finding that it was in someone's lap, hair being stroked.

"Hey, sleepyhead," James greeted with a dazzling grin.

"What the-"

"Mama Knight was released. I gave her a hug for you… Before they wiped her memory."

"She's already gone?"

James pulled the blond up to sit between his crossed legs, arms around him tightly.

"How're you feeling?"

"Pissed off that, yet again, I'm stuck here." Kendall whined, pressing his forehead into James' shoulder. James hugged him tight with his cheek on Kendall's hair. He hated that Kendall was in such distress.

"So we're trapped," James said softly.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? This isn't your fault."

"My family."

"You can't control that."

"Don't fuck my sister. Please." Kendall whispered.

"What?"

"Cause they were injecting you with hormones and shit."

"Hormones? No- I woke up in here. Cause me and Carlos were tranquilized on top of the 'O'."

"They're gonna make you fuck Katie as an experiment and they knew you wouldn't do it unless you were really horny, so they made you really horny!"

James, not wanting to accept this sick theory, shifted uncomfortably. That would explain the needle pricks all over his torso.

"But I'm not horny."

"Jamie, please."

"Okay. I won't do it. Why would I? Katie's like a sister to all of us- that's disgusting. And I'm scientifically disgusted by all sex unless it's with you."

Kendall nodded and snuggled into James' hold more. He knew James was determined to resist, but would he be able to if the time came?

Meanwhile, Logan held his limp boyfriend in his arms, trying to wake him up. No luck so far- Carlos was hardly breathing, too, which scared him. Then again, Carlos and James were tranquilized with the same darts, and James was a bigger guy. It would take longer for Carlos to come to.

He overheard Kendall talking about the possibility of James having to do the nasty with Katie. It was a good experiment- not that he was for it. Maybe they wanted to see if it was possible for Katie to get pregnant, although Logan wasn't sure. He was told HE was sterile, but he was born like this. Maybe the others were different. Although he didn't understand why, if they wanted Katie pregnant, they didn't artificially inseminate her?

This brough Logan's fears to life. If they were jumping into such serious experiments to quickly, what the hell would they do to the rest of the guys?

His thoughts were broken as he quiet mumble and a shift in his arms.

"Hey, kid," Logan said in relief. Carlos rolled over and put his cheek on Logan's bicep sleepily, fingers lightly curling around his shirt.

"Yo," Carlos grumbled.

"Tired?"

"A little. Cuddle with me."

"I can't. Then I'll fall asleep and I can't have that. I have to protect you."

"From what? Monsters?"

"Close."

Carlos grumbled again and set up, still curled in Logan's lap as he laid his cheek sleepily on Logan's shoulder.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Underground- in a lab."

"Why?"

"Cause it was that or everyone dies."

Carlos nodded, not really caring about details at the time.

"I was worried about you. I thought you were dead," Logan said, turning his head so that his lips were close to Carlos' forehead.

"I wouldn't die without kissing you goodbye," Carlos said. Obviously the tranquilizer made him quite loopy.

"Well good," Logan said. "Let's never kiss again."

Carlos looked up, eyes genuinely hurt.

"What?"

Logan laughed and pressed his lips to the Latino's.

"Or we can constantly kiss," Logan suggested.

"I like that one better."

Their moment was dashed as there was a beep and the heavy, knobless door opened. Logan's arms tightened around Carlos, as did James' around Kendall.

"How sweet," Vincent cooed in mock happiness. "Sorry to ruin the ADORABLE moment, but I need our dear James here to come with me."

* * *

It didn't hit James that Kendall was exactly right in what he told him about Katie until he was lead into a little white room, a man's hands gripping the bases of his wings for control.

"What's going on?" James asked when he was told to sit on the bed.

"Experiment number one," Vincent said grimly, snapping his fingers and summoning another huge man. The man held a struggling Katie by her wrists, who was in nothing but a bra and underwear.

"You two have fun," Vincent said happily, taking a seat in a chair in the corner of the room with a clip board, the huge guys closing and guarding the door.

James squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus on his breathing when he found that the sight of the half-naked Katie before him actually threatened to make him hard.

"Don't fight it, James," Vincent sang.

"What the hell is going on?" Katie growled, sitting on the bed beside James, seeking comfort and protection from the big, strong boy she found to be like a brother.

"Shh… It's okay, baby girl."

"James- what IS this?" Katie whispered, pressing herself to him. She wasn't normally one to be afraid and look for comfort, but her bastard of a father had stabbed her with a needle, and suddenly her mind was numb, body weak.

"K-katie… PLEASE- please go away," James whispered, eyes still closed. The warm touch plus the whisper in his ear had succeeded in making his pants tighter, which scared the hell out of James. His… part… Had NEVER had a mind of its own before. Not even with Kendall.

"I'm scared. And… I think I'm high, too," Katie said. "And smell me- they sprayed this weird stuff on me…"

Katie's thin wrist was suddenly below James' nose, and as he breathed in his brain went dumb. It smelled just like Kendall.

"No," James grunted, jumping up and pacing around. "I won't do it, Vincent."

"We'll see about that," Vincent said evilly. James took a long time to compose himself, pressing his forehead to the cold wall and breathing hard. His body was SCREAMING- _Get inside that little girl_- but he knew that was SO wrong. Not only was Katie James' boyfriend's baby sister and sort of his own, but she was also only fifteen years old. Not to mention his conscious self was repulsed by the idea of sex with a girl. Finally he thought he had control and turned to apologize to Katie.

He looked directly into dark brown eyes, pleading and innocent, and nearly lost it.

"No," he growled at himself. He felt like some cave man, whose only goal in life was to mate and spread genes, no matter who the girl was. He felt like he was being controlled… Was this what NORMAL teens felt all the time?

But still, with all his "control", he found himself right in front of the half-naked girl, just staring down at her.

"Don't fight it, James," Vincent repeated. "Every single cell in your body is TELLING you to do it. I'm surprised you've lasted this long."

Gosh- those big eyes on James', puzzled yet still trusting…

"You're a sick bastard," James hissed to Vincent, still staring down into Katie's eyes.

"All in the name of science."

Yet still James had no control over his body as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Atta boy," Vincent purred.

"What're you doing?" Katie asked.

James' fingers reached down to unbutton his jeans, allowing them and his boxers to drop.

"OH MY GOD!" Katie screamed in horror, bolting up and shoving James a little in order to bolt to the corner of the room. But James found himself chasing her, like some ape. Found himself grabbing hold of the girl and carrying her to the bed, tossing her onto it.

"J-james?" Katie stammered, and James could actually hear her heart beating a billion miles a minute, eyes huge and filled with terror now.

But James was already ripping her underwear off of her. And despite her desperate attempts of escape, he easily contained her.

"Get off of me! James- you're supposed to PROTECT me from this! This is- this is RAPE!"

"It's not me," James whispered helplessly as his body was finally getting what it was driven to get, the fifteen year old sister-figure trying to fight it the whole time, screaming. Screaming for Kendall, for Carlos, for Logan, for her mother, for Vincent, for the guards at the door, for the REAL James to come to and stop this horrible pain. But James didn't stop. His whole mind was consumed now in that primal thought. _Sex, sex, sex._

And finally he was finished and the real James came to, just as he was slowing down.

"Katie-" he whispered, eyes wide. He let go of his death grip on her hips and she crawled to the corner of the room, rocking herself, hugging her knees.

"We'll leave you here, darling," Vincent sneered.

"Katie- that wasn't me," James said, taking a step toward her. Katie pressed harder against the wall, eyes wide with fear, so James stopped. "I- I didn't mean to."

Katie looking away, tears streaming down her face, and James was roughly taken away by the bases of his wings, to the huge room at the end of the hall.

* * *

Kendall laid in a ball, eyes wide as he and Logan heard the faint screams of his sister. At first they were just screams. Then they turned to names.

_Kendall! Kendall, help me! Carlos! Logan! Anyone!_

Kendall's eyes flickered numbly to the door, where two guards stood outside, smirking in at him.

Carlos climbed out of Logan's lap and approached his brother to sit with him, taking the bigger boy in his arms.

"I can't hear whatever you guys are listening to. But you look really upset," Carlos said, petting Kendall's hair.

"He's raping her," Kendall whispered.

"Who?" Carlos asked, looking puzzled at Logan across the room, who also looked extremely distraught.

"James," Kendall said so faintly Carlos barely heard.

"It's not his fault," Logan said strongly, getting up. "You know it's not. It's whatever they injected him with that's doing it- I guarantee he's like- crying right now."

"I know. But… That's my boyfriend. And my sister. I can't help either of them."

Carlos tightened his hold on Kendall and shot Logan a sorry look.

"I'm just glad I can't hear it," he said.

Finally, after about ten minutes, the screaming stopped.

"He normally lasts longer," Kendall said in confusion.

"Gross," Carlos muttered.

"It's the chemicals," Logan assured. "I'm just glad."

"Me too." Kendall nodded.

Nothing happened for the rest of the night. They all expected James to return to the room at some point, but he didn't. They all, even Logan, just wanted to go find Katie- tell her it wasn't James raping her, it was the shit he was injected with. But they couldn't. So Kendall fell asleep in his brother's arms, Logan curled up in his own bed across the room.

* * *

**I was gonna make it a cliffhanger, but decided it's too soon. :D And with everything going on right now, who knows when the next chapter will come out? Didn't want you guys to be mad and not know if James did it or not. And I promise I'm always working on my stories, but sometimes it takes a while for me to finish it, and sometimes I change my mind and rewrite it. I used to update every day, but then I think I actually got GOOD, so I needed to put more thought and time into things. So that's what's going on.**

**Does it piss you guys off? Any of this? I'm nervous about it- I kinda wanted to write a whole nother story with everyone being completely different, but you guys wanted a sequel. And sometimes, like in Shrek, sequels just turn to shit and the story would be best as just one. I mean… Just tell me what you think. I'm kinda lost.**


	3. Even Angels Get Hurt Sometimes

**Dear "Disgusted", whoever you are since you apparently don't want me messaging you and telling you off, like I'm that kind of person,**

**Okay. Cool, thanks, man. Makes me feel amazing. I guess I DID say to tell me what you think, and you did, but calling me a, what was it? "sick minded freak", was unnecessary. I doubt you're even reading this, since you "so hate my writing" and all, but whatever. Fanfiction is a website for blossoming authors to get their writing out there and express themselves. Yeah, I smile at the end of it, because that's who I am and quite frankly, I was proud of myself for the last chapter. I'm a super happy and smiley person, and I guess this story is my way of expressing my dark and brutal side. So I'm oh so sorry that it didn't live up to your standards, but there's WAY worse stuff on this website. There's Kendall on Katie- waaaay more brutal than that. And why would you file a complaint? Because you didn't like my idea? Yeah, whatever, it was brutal, but it's part of the story- I'm the writer, I decide. And if you read my stuff at all, you should know that when bad stuff happens, you have to trust me because I'll make it better. I don't know what filing a complaint will do, but I don't think Fanfiction will do anything to me for writing that. There's so much worse stuff out there. I'm not gonna block you or whatever, because I want you to be able to read the rest of this someday and be like "Wow, that turned out great- I was a jerk."**

**So if your goal was to put me down and make me want to just scrap this story, you succeeded. And if you're still reading, don't review anymore, because I don't need to be called names and threatened. You're welcome to still read, but don't be a jerk about it. Perhaps instead of doing all that in a review, you should suggest a better idea, like everyone else. Or just don't review at all and just stop reading.**

* * *

**Dear NickAnonymous17,**

**Warning?**

* * *

**Everyone else who's reading, thank you. And I handled this "Disgusted" person, so you don't need to add to it. And whoever "Disgusted" is, they wouldn't need to be publically called out if they had the balls to sign in, because everyone knows I'm Kaylee and I would just PM them and be all "WTF?", but I just got really worked up because of it all. I'm sorry- bitch moment number two so far. **

**Okay. So right now I was SO strongly considering just writing "I'm sorry guys- this is a shit beginning and I'm deleting this story" and just writing another one like "Feathers". SO strongly. And I had this elaborate suicide note for "Needles" and was about to post it, but decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. I've decided, obviously, to continue. I was just pissed off. If you're gonna write reviews like "Disgusted" did, please don't. I know I told you I could handle it, but turns out I'm more fragile than I thought.**

**So just to be clear, I'm continuing with this story. :)**

* * *

Kendall awoke with Carlos cuddled up to him, sound asleep, a leg wrapped over his brother's waist and a tan arm clutching the blond to him. This was the way Carlos slept with Logan pretty much every night, Kendall recognized.

Kendall's eyes scanned the room for Logan, and found that he was at the door. He was looking out into the hallway, past the guards, not looking at anything in particular but just staring.

"Hey, Pit?" Carlos grumbled in his sleep, moving his face to rub his nose on Kendall's shoulder before laying his head back down.

"Yes, baby?" Logan asked absently. Carlos, confused, opened his eyes to see Kendall beneath his head, looking at him in amusement. His head snapped over to Logan at the door before he shrugged and snuggled into Kendall again.

"I'm hungry," he said to nobody in particular, knowing both boys would cater to his needs.

"Tell me about it," Logan grumbled before banging on the window. A guard looked over, confused, and saw the angry bird kid. "FOOD! WE NEED FOOOOOOD!"

"Did James ever come back?" Carlos asked his brother.

"No… I'm kind of glad," Kendall admitted. "I don't think I'd be able to look at him if he had."

"It's gonna be hard on you… To forgive him. It's not like you CAN'T forgive him- I mean, you're scientifically obligated to love him unconditionally."

Kendall laughed a little at the Latino's use for big words and nodded, getting serious again.

"I wish I could go see Katie. I bet she's absolutely freaking out right now… And I swear to God, if they put her and James in the same room to sleep, I'll be pissed. Not only would Katie be scared shitless, but if I know James at all, he'd be pleading for forgiveness, on his knees, crying, telling her he didn't mean to."

"He's a sweet guy… It's fucked up that HE was chosen to do that."

"Only cause Vincent hates my guts and likes to see me suffer."

Carlos was silent, tracing a pattern in Kendall's t-shirt. It was okay, though, because Kendall was lost in thought.

He had a feeling that if he was put in a room with James right now, he'd be a mess of emotions. He'd be angry because of what his boyfriend did. Afraid, knowing now what James could do if injected with the right thing. Sad, because of what both James and Katie had gone through, mixed with a hint of resentment, because Kendall would have to fight himself to keep from just hugging James on instinct. He was really worried about his little sister, wondering where she was, what she was doing, and how she was feeling.

"It's about god-damn time. My fucking boyfriend is dying over there- you couldn't have double-timed it?" Logan growled as he was roughly handed a silver tray with sandwiches on it. Nobody heard his complaints- the door was immediately closed and locked.

Logan sighed angrily and shook his head as he turned to Carlos, who was already up and taking one of only three sandwiches. They hadn't eaten for two days- they were hungrier for more than a sandwich could give them.

"Oh God- the best god-damn mother fucking rotten egg salad sandwich I ever ate," Carlos groaned, taking about half of it into his mouth in the first bite. Logan rolled his eyes and tossed a sandwich to Kendall, who caught it and set it aside without even looking up.

"Don't be worried," Logan suggested, digging into his own sandwich and sitting on the bed beside Kendall. "They're fine."

"I doubt it."

"See that? Logan tries to comfort someone besides Carlos and it doesn't even work worth shit," Logan grumbled smartly. Carlos sat on his lap, head innocently on his shoulder, having already eaten his sandwich. Logan's head instinctively leaned sideways for his cheek to rest on Carlos' hair, his hand offering a bite of sandwich to the Latino.

"No. You eat it," Carlos said sweetly. "I know you're starved."

"Here, Los. Have mine," Kendall said, handing his sandwich over. Carlos suddenly got defensive.

"I know it's horrible here and I know that you're in a bad situation with James, but starving to death isn't the way to go," he said almost angrily. "Eat the damn sandwich, Kendall, or I'll make you."

Logan's brows jumped up as he looked at Kendall, who also looked surprised.

"I- I just don't have much of an appetite," Kendall stammered.

"Yeah, well, you haven't eaten in two days. Fucking EAT before they take ALL food away."

"Los- chill out," Logan said in shock.

"I'm just saying," Carlos said in defeat, cuddling into Logan- his safety line. Carlos knew that with Logan was the safest place he could be, so his self-conscious wouldn't let him separate from the boy. Maybe a part of him felt Logan's own fear, and wanted to make him feel better.

"Eat up, Carlos," came a voice over a loudspeaker, Vincent, the boys jumping at the sound, "You'll need all the energy you can get. I'll be there for you in a few minutes."

Carlos' eyes widened and he looked up at Logan in terror.

"Where am I going?" he whispered.

"I dunno." Logan's arms tightened around Carlos, and Carlos took half of Kendall's sandwich, Kendall nibbling at the other half.

Only a few minutes later, there was a beep and the door opened. Vincent walked briskly to Carlos and Logan as the door closed again.

"Don't touch hi-" Logan began to growl, but before he could get the rest of the sentence out, Vincent pulled out some type of hypodermic needle and stabbed it into Carlos' shoulder. Carlos yelped and Logan was to his feet, Carlos pushed to stand behind him as Kendall stood beside Logan protectively.

"What was that?" Carlos asked tearfully, touching his shoulder.

"Something to knock the hustle." Vincent smirked. "Come with me and we'll get started."

Carlos pressed himself to Kendall's back, knowing Logan might get violent.

"He isn't going," Logan said.

"I have another needle, boy."

Logan fell silent, but still stood strong.

Vincent shrugged and reached into his pocket, but Carlos stepped forward from behind Kendall.

"No! I'll go."

Logan stared at Carlos in shock and confusion, but Vincent smirked and his caramel green eyes lifted to his son's matching ones.

"Where's Katie?" Kendall asked pleadingly.

"Oh, she's fine. Being a little baby- cried all day," Vincent said with a roll of his eyes. "I guess the same goes for your boyfriend, too."

With that, Vincent turned to the door, which the guards opened for his with a beep. He gestured for Carlos to follow, and Carlos laced his fingers with Logan's, looking up with innocent black eyes.

"Don't worry, Pit. God loves mutants." Logan smiled a little at Carlos' favorite quote. "God loves mutants"- something Carlos said when they were in danger. Although he wasn't religious, he was convinced that God had a special kind of generosity for mutants.

"I'll be here when you get back," Logan said gently, although he was scared shitless, like he knew Kendall was, for what Vincent would do to Carlos.

* * *

Although Carlos was afraid, he knew from past experience that if you fought them, you'd only get hurt more. So he followed Vincent to the big door at the end of the hallway, huge guys on his flanks. And when he got in there, he laid down on the long metal table and allowed the men to strap him down. He was feeling weak anyway- like he couldn't fight them off even if he tried.

His head was forced to the side so that he was facing his right, which was some guy's crotch, and was strapped down. Sticky things attached to wires were put all over him, along with a heart monitor on his finger and a few wires on his head.

"Gonna tell me what's going on?" Carlos asked, trying to sound tough like Logan.

"Just relax. You probably won't feel anything," Vincent said evilly.

* * *

James sat in the corner of the room, hugging his knees as his wings wrapped around him. He was cold as hell, and in desperate need of a hug. The warm feathers satisfied both.

Katie sat in the opposite corner, asleep, curled up in a little ball. It was the first time since James was brought back from testing that she was able to drift off.

After the whole… James/Katie incident… James was taken to the room at the end of the hall. They took his blood, tested his hormone levels, observed his behavior, etc. Then, just because Vincent was a cruel bastard, he was taken back to the room that everything happened in. Katie was scared to death, shaking and crying and ready to slug James in the 'nads if he got too close. It broke James' heart, but he couldn't say he blamed her.

He spent pretty much every minute since then, just apologizing. Explaining to her that he was sort of brainwashed, that if he wasn't being controlled, he'd have never done that to her. Never taken her innocence.

She was over there, shivering and huddling into herself, in a shallow sleep. James offered over and over to cover her with his wings to keep her warm, but she just ignored him and shivered on.

He missed Kendall, but knew that Kendall probably heard Katie's screams last night. He had sharp hearing and Katie screamed loud enough for China to hear. James was afraid to see Kendall. Afraid of how he would react. But he just wished he could go and tell Kendall that Katie was okay, that HE was okay, that he was sorry.

James' eyes fell on the wrapped-up sandwich by his side. He was starving. But he wouldn't allow himself to eat. He was evil- he was useless- nobody loved him anymore. So he was punishing himself. And maybe if he died along the way, everyone would be happier.

But it was too much of a temptation. He found that he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out to te sandwich.

_NO. No eating._

And so, instead of picking it up, James shoved the sandwich toward Katie, knowing that he couldn't possibly get it then. But he shoved it a little too hard and it skidded across the cold concrete floor and hit Katie in the back.

James jumped and retreated back into his wings, watching as Katie sat up and looked at him with doe eyes.

"What's wrong with it?" she whispered, picking it up. James saw the hunger in her eyes. She was a pubescent teenager; of course she was still hungry after one sandwich.

"Nothing. I- I can't eat it. I don't deserve to eat it."

Katie, for the first time, looked into his eyes. Then she unwrapped and shoved the sandwich into her mouth. James was a bit relieved- this showed that Katie still trusted him enough to eat food that he offered her. She chewed quickly, as if the food would be taken at any moment.

She said nothing else after finishing the sandwich, just laid back down, clutching her arms.

James found himself unwrapping his body and taking off his old dirty t-shirt.

"Katie?"

"What?"

"Here," James said, and waited for Katie to turn. He skidded the warm t-shirt across the floor and Katie grabbed it cautiously. "It's not much… But I hope it helps."

Katie hated that the shirt smelled like James- a smell that used to be comforting. But it WAS warm from his body heat, and it was big enough to put over her head and curl herself into. She didn't thank James… She wasn't ready to thank him for anything. But the shirt DID help her a lot.

* * *

Carlos was completely blind to what was happening behind his head. He heard soft metallic scrapes and bangs, but the wonder was killing him.

Suddenly something was slid into his ear, making Carlos jump on instinct and right his bondage. Not even a human would like this.

"What the fuck?" Carlos growled, fighting helplessly. Suddenly there was a pain in his inner ear. "OW! STOP IT! MOTHER FUCKER!"

Carlos fought helplessly, and felt that he was about to break out when an excruciating shock came from all the bondage except his head. Carlos' hands formed a fist and his back arched, and although the electricity only flowed for three seconds it felt like hours.

"He isn't numb yet," came a foreign voice. "Should we wait?"

"HELL NO HE'S NOT NUMB YET!" Carlos yelled, trying not to sound as afraid as he was.

"No. Keep going." Vincent dismissed.

There was another, much sharper pain now in Carlos' inner ear, and he screamed. But suddenly it was like he had just gone underwater, and only his left ear had gotten liquid in it. All sounds became dull.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?" Carlos fought, trying to break free again. He was shocked yet another time, this one being much stronger.

Another pain. And suddenly there was no sound pouring into Carlos' left ear.

"NO! STOP! I CAN'T FUCKING HEAR!"

But they didn't stop- they kept doing whatever they were doing.

"LOGAN! LOGAN, HELP ME!" Carlos yelled as loud as he could. "LOGAN! KENDALL! JAMES!"

Something snaked out of his ear and his head was unstrapped, only to be forced the other way and strapped down again.

And the same thing was repeated.

* * *

Logan laid in his bed, just staring at the long fluorescent light on the concrete ceiling. He wondered what was happening to Carlos- it had been three hours and Kendall was asleep. He hated not knowing. All he knew was that the aches and pains were already starting. Kendall didn't seem too worried about it, though. He knew how all this lab stuff worked, and knew this was probably nothing.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little white feather that Carlos gave him before all this happened. He twirled it around in his fingers, just watching as the tiny tentacle-like appendages danced in the air. It didn't help at all with his pains, but it helped with his worrying. Carlos always reminded Logan of an angel- his beauty, his kindness, his white wings. And thinking of angels reminded Logan of Carlos' favorite phrase. _God loves mutants._

Logan realized that there was nothing for him to put his trust in. So he figured, why not go the route that Carlos went? Turn to God.

He was almost deciding on getting to his knees and praying when there was a familiar beep and the door opened. Logan bolted to his feet as a huge guy came in, Logan's little Latino slumped unconsciously over his shoulder. The man simply tossed the body onto the bed.

"Hey! Be careful, asshole!" Logan growled. The man, apparently not in the best of moods, turned on Logan and caught him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Logan didn't struggle, didn't plead, just clutched the man's huge hand with both of his and stared strongly into the man's dopey eyes, not giving him the satisfaction of showing fear.

"Don't fucking talk to me that way, little cunt," the man growled, squeezing Logan's windpipe. Logan still didn't struggle, only stared the man straight in the eyes and spat into his face. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The man threw Logan, who hit the wall and slumped onto the ground if only for a second. But Logan was up and running for the open door before the man could comprehend. But Logan was clothes-lined, hitting the floor again. The man sneered and made for the door, but suddenly Logan was on him, an arm around the man's throat. With a few beats of his wings, the man was overpowered and on the ground, Logan's thumbs pressing into his windpipe.

"I'll kill all you shitfaces one-by-one, and we're gonna get the fuck outta here," Logan growled, staring into dopey and horrified eyes as they began to fail. But at the moment that the man was ready to die, Logan looked up to see Kendall, eyes wide, mouth gaping open. And so he sighed and let go of the man.

"I'm a god-damn lethal weapon. Don't fuck with me," Logan said, getting up and watching the man crawl away, the door closing behind him.

* * *

Logan woke up when he assumed to be the next morning to a warm body snuggled into his arms. He looked down to see Carlos, head on Logan's bicep, eyes open and just staring at the pattern of Logan's shirt.

"Hey, beautiful. You're awake," Logan said sweetly. Carlos didn't look up like he usually did. "So what happened?"

Still no response.

"Los?"

No reply. Logan reached down to tilt Carlos' chin up, the big black eyes finally focusing on him and Carlos smiling widely.

"What happened last night?" Logan asked, searching Carlos' eyes.

Carlos' smile faded as his eyes dropped to Logan' lips, brows drawn together.

"What the fuck? Talk!"

Carlos had gotten the "what the fuck" part just by reading Logan's lips, and he looked up, feeling like a kicked puppy. Logan obviously hadn't been told that Carlos couldn't hear shit now, and he was angry.

And so Carlos just burst into tears. Not only couldn't he hear anything, maybe forever, but now Logan was angry and he didn't know how to tell him that he was deaf. And on top of that, he was tired and his head hurt and he was in a god-damn LAB for who knows how long?

"No! No, don't cry!" Logan said in a confused panic, watching as Carlos buried his face into his boyfriend's bicep. "Kendall, help me!"

But Kendall was asleep in his own bed.

Carlos sniffled and looked up at Logan, eyes teary. Logan opened his mouth to talk again and Carlos pressed his fingertips to the boy's chest to feel the vibrations.

"What's going on, baby? Talk to me."

Carlos got the "what's going on" and the "me", so he got the gist.

"He can't hear you, asshole," came a voice over the loudspeaker, making Kendall jump in his sleep and Logan jump, but Carlos just looked at Logan helplessly.

"Can you hear?" Logan asked, watching as Carlos' eyes dropped from his to his lips as he spoke.

_Yes! You've got it! You get me so well!_

Carlos, of course, didn't know that Logan had been told about it over the loudspeaker. He shook his head no, and Logan sat up, Carlos going with him.

Logan clutched Carlos' face, ran his fingers over his ears, searched him eyes. But nothing contained an answer.

"What hurts?" Logan asked, Carlos watching his lips again. Carlos pointed to his ears, then put his hands over his heart, tearing up again. Suddenly Logan was up, whirling around and looking at the cameras.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" he screamed, Kendall starting awake. "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"We enhanced his hearing," Vincent answered over the intercom.

"BULL FUCKING SHIT! HE CAN'T HEAR ANYHTING!"

"Hm… That could be a problem…"

"FIX HIM, MOTHER FUCKER!"

Suddenly there were hands on his bicep and Logan knew that it was Carlos. Carlos hated it when Logan got angry over something that couldn't be fixed. Logan sighed and hugged Carlos tight around the neck.

Carlos, for the first time ever, could actually FEEL Logan's pulse racing beneath his cheek- something that he couldn't do with all five senses.

Guessing that the conversation between he and Vincent was over, Logan kissed Carlos' temple and hugged him more. He told Kendall the whole story, Kendall equally as pissed off and screaming at the cameras, which did nothing to help anything.

* * *

**Okay, guys. Don't get butthurt, PLEASE. I'm already extremely insecure about this story and about ready to give it to someone to finish, make it a collaboration, or just slap on a shit ending and call it a story. I feel like it's getting too brutal for some people and I hate that people are mad at me. This AND my other story, "The Puzzle Pieces of Life" is getting a lot of people mad and I feel like I have zero freedom anymore. Some people want one thing, some want the other. And when I go with what I want, people get mad and stop reading. Just dunno what to do lately. **


	4. Take Care Of Me

**NickAnonymous17 : Thank you for your encouraging words. :D **

**He/she reminded me of "Big Time Tour Bus", when Kendall found out about his haters and everyone was all like "They don't mean anything". I am the Kendall. And you guys are the awesome Rushers. And there are only a few " haters" out there. So if I could come to your houses and sing "Crazy For U" to all of you, I would. Should probably learn to play the guitar. And to sing.**

**Theweirdblond : Sorry, I forgot to thank you last chapter. But thanks for helping me out and for talking to me and for reviewing nice things. BLONDES UNITE!**

**RandomWriter23 , Alyssa Hill or Lyssa , .98 , Vezulow , LoveSparkle , Chey21 , ilovelogiebear, Doomedphsyx2030, lenail125, TwiPotter Girl, and bmwstamps : Thank you all for you kind words. :D **

**keynote123 : Yay! My wifey's back. ;) I was pretty worried that you were gonna divorce me, even though we never really got married. Good to know you're not dead! :D**

**I think I got everyone, but if I missed you let me know and I'll hit you up next time. You guys are a huge help to me, you have no idea. I've always written fiction, since I could spell, and finding this website and being able to get feedback on my writing has only made me better, as you can tell if you look at some of my older ones. I feel like even when I've grown out of BTR and don't love them as much, I'll keep writing. Being able to write about characters I know and are easy to imagine helps me a lot, and I'm yet to find a way to transfer that into original works of mine. I can't tell you how excited it makes me to see the review number jump in a matter of a day, and every single one of them, leave out that ONE, are all positive. :) I love you guys, and I know I make long author's notes and I'm dumb and I like to kill characters off and I'm quite annoying with my whining, so thanks for still loving me. :) **

* * *

Carlos stared at the concrete ceiling, Logan's arms around him as he slept lightly on his shoulder. Tears ran from his dark eyes toward his ears. He was sure the room was dead silent, but couldn't be sure because he wouldn't be able to hear anyway. He wondered if he'd ever be able to hear. This whole thing scared the shit out of him. He had always been able to hear, and it was a scary world when it was silent. The only thing he could hear was his own thoughts… And that was enough to drive anyone insane.

He missed James. He knew Kendall was going nuts without him, and he was pretty sure Logan was kind of aching for the big goofball, too. James would somehow make this better. Logan and Kendall were great at comforting Carlos, but James, he knew, would make him laugh somehow and cheer him up.

He felt vibrations on his shoulder coming from Logan's chest, and he turned to look up into soft black eyes. He saw Logan's mouth moving, felt the vibrations of his vocal chords making sounds, yet heard nothing. Logan pursed his lips, having forgotten that Carlos couldn't hear. Instead of talking, Logan wiped up the long track of wetness on Carlos' tan cheek with his knuckle and smiled a little.

Carlos guessed he sniffled. Well, he DID. But he couldn't be sure. It was scary as fuck to sniffle or cough or clap your hands and not hear the sound it made.

Carlos didn't ever cry in front of the guys, but he thought they were both asleep. He was always one to see the bright side in things, always picked everyone up when they were down. Both Logan and Kendall knew that. Carlos was their little rock. And if they saw their little rock break down, it would surely make them both lose hope. So even the night before, when Carlos came to and couldn't hear anything, he didn't cry. He didn't hyperventilate like he was on the verge of now. He only trembled slightly in Logan's arms, showing Logan that he WAS at a weak point, but not too weak.

"I love you," Logan mouthed silently, offering a tiny smile that only Carlos ever got- never James or Kendall. Carlos sniffled again and smiled as Logan kissed his nose gingerly.

Meanwhile, Kendall laid in a ball on his bed, in agony.

He felt like he was going to throw up, but he was so hungry that he was sure if he did it would only be dry-heaves. His head pounded and his breathing became labored.

It had been two days since he had seen James. He would love so much to just SEE the boy, make sure he was okay. At first he despised James. But now he missed him like crazy- ached to be in his arms.

Just thinking about James sent Kendall's stomach twisting and his head pounding, sending a cry of pain out of his lips.

"It's the separation. I know exactly what you're feeling," Logan said from his bed. "The twisted stomach and the extreme migraine, right?"

"Fuck."

Normally it only took an hour of being away from Carlos for Logan to get the symptoms. But Kendall's had taken a whole day to kick in, and was only getting worse.

"The worst thing is, there's nothing you can do about it."

"Does it get better?"

"Only with touch."

"FUUUUUCK my life."

"Sometimes just seeing him will make it a little better."

Kendall just laid there, feeling like vomiting would be welcomed at this point. Feeling like his head exploding would somehow be better than this. Hell, DEATH would be better than this.

"I'M FUCKING DYING! IT'S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!" Kendall called to the cameras.

* * *

James laid in a weak ball, just ready for death already.

He hadn't eaten in two days, which was agony, since he needed extra food with his human body and needy wing muscles.

He suspected that's what was causing the pains everywhere. His stomach, his head, his spine.

But still he gave his food to Katie every time he got it. He could barely move, really. Even when he had the energy, his head threatened to explode and a sharp pain shot up his spine, sending him to the cold floor again.

"J-james… PLEASE eat it," Katie said softly, talking to him for the first time in a long time. A wrapped up sandwich lay on the concrete a foot from his face, James in a ball, looking on the verge of death. "You'll die."

"No, Katie. It's okay," James said. "You go ahead."

"I'm not hungry."

"Sure you are."

Katie didn't want to admit that her stomach DID long for that sandwich. Although she hated James' guts, she couldn't sit here and watch him die.

"HE'S DYING! GET HIM AN IV OR SOMETHING!" Katie yelled to the cameras pleadingly.

"No!" James tried to yell, but found that his head couldn't take it.

They both jumped when there was a beep and the big door opened, Vincent entering.

"It doesn't matter to me if you live or die, boy. But I have a theory that if you go, so does your other half."

James was silent, mostly because there was so much he wanted to say but couldn't summon the energy. He watched with drooping lids as Katie was taken and the door was closed, leaving James alone.

* * *

Kendall walked slowly behind Vincent and his goons, stomach heaving.

"Where am I going?" Kendall asked. Hopefully somewhere to treat his ailments.

"First I've decided to be generous and let you have a choice," Vincent stopped and faced Kendall. "You can have a few minutes with Katie before we release her in a few days- IF the experiment didn't work- and she won't have any memory of you anymore," Kendall's heart jumped, "OR a few with James, who has been starving himself this whole time and is pretty close to shutting down," Kendall realized that he was faced with a horrid decision, which he didn't want to take.

"Not both?"

"NOT both. Choose."

Kendall weighed his options. If he chose to be with James, he would feel better- his ailments gone. And his worries would be at ease. AND James was "shutting down", whatever that meant, and starving himself? Kendall would tell him to eat and he would obey. But if he didn't take this opportunity to see Katie, he may never see her again. And she wouldn't remember him. And he was sure she was going through a lot.

"Katie," Kendall found himself saying with certainty. He prayed that he and James had a Carlos/Logan relationship, where James couldn't die without Kendall's permission.

Vincent nodded and turned again.

Kendall got a peculiar pulling sensation and he knew that James was near. But… He couldn't bring himself to look into the window of the door he passed, afraid to see James dying on the floor.

* * *

James was nearly asleep when he felt someone approaching his door through vibrations in the concrete beneath his ear. His eyes opened to see Vincent passing by slowly, talking to someone. There were goons with him, so that MUST mean there was someone important…

Vincent finally passed and a familiar yet oblivious blonde head appeared. A bit of James' pain released and he worked hard to get to his knees and was extremely weak.

"K-kendall!" He attempted, trying to crawl to the door as quickly as he could. And yet Kendall was oblivious as he passed, and James didn't reach the door in time to get his attention. He fell to the ground, passing out.

* * *

"Katie!" Kendall breathed, catching his little sister in a hug as she advanced to him. He whirled her around and hugged her with rib-breaking strength. "I was so worried about you, you don't even know."

"Kendall, he did things to me," Katie whispered, tears flowing onto her brother's shoulder. Kendall's stomach dropped, although he already had a good idea that it happened, her words confirmed what James did to Katie.

"I know. I know," Kendall whispered, still hugging her as tight as before.

"He's gonna die."

"What?"

"He was so mad at himself after it happened that he refused to eat. He gave me all his food and his shirt… I think he's gonna die."

Kendall was confused as to why Katie cared so much for the man who raped her and took her innocence.

"Do you feel pregnant?" Kendall whispered into her hair.

"No," Katie said simply. "It didn't work. It was all for nothing."

Kendall was a bit relieved, obviously, but a little broken hearted that the whole thing WAS for nothing. Yet they still hugged.

"I'm sorry this had to happen. But they're gonna let you go."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But… You won't remember me or the guys or anything that happened since I came home. Just like Mom."

"What? No!"

"Don't argue with it," Kendall said sternly. "I'm so glad you're getting out alive."

"What about you?"

"I'll… I'll be okay."

"Okay, time's up. Come on."

"I love you, Katie."

"I love you, too. Tell the others I love them, too."

"I will," Kendall pulled away and smiled a little as he was pulled away.

* * *

James woke up with a prick in his arm. His eyes opened sluggishly to see that he was in the lab at the end of the hallway, in a chair and not strapped down, a tube running clear liquid into his inner elbow, a fresh shirt on.

"James Dylan, what were you thinking?" Came an all-too-familiar scowl, and James jumped out of his skin. It was the last voice he ever expected to hear here, yet there was only one person who called him by his middle name and only one person with that bossy and somewhat throaty voice.

Mom.

His fears were confirmed as he looked up to see the woman in a lab coat, hands on her hips, hazel eyes boring into his. The woman with James' eyes, James' skin, James' hair color (plus highlights), James' teeth, and James' genes. A perfectly shaped eyebrow cocked and she watched him expectantly.

"Mom?" James asked, confused.

"You were going to die. Do you know that?" she retorted. "What were you thinking, young man?"

James looked down and realized that the IV was giving him nutrients and such, like food except not really. He suddenly tore it away, sending the clear liquid spouting everywhere as the tube fell to the ground. A bead of blood was forming quickly from the puncture in James' arm, but he didn't care.

"Why are you so suicidal?"

"What're you doing here?" James asked, ignoring the question.

"I was supposed to be here days ago when you arrived, but I had business at the office."

"You're in on this? Mom, get me out of here!" James pleaded, still extremely weak.

"I brought you into this world and made you the way you are JUST for what we're doing down here, Jamie. Nineteen years, I guess you're almost twenty now aren't you? I've been raising you for THIS."

James was taken aback. His own mother… He refused to believe it.

"Now tell me. Why do you want to die? Is it because of the intercourse? Honey, it's completely natural. Not for YOU of course, but I think it was a great experiment indeed. You know, we're getting her results back any moment now, but I can tell you she isn't pregnant. It would be interesting if she was, though."

James was horrified. Mothers weren't supposed to support their sons, their only spawn, having sex. He realized she was waiting for an answer.

"I'm a monster. That's all."

"But if you die, what happens to your precious boyfriend? We have a theory that your lifelines are connected, you know."

"So…"

"If you die, he might go right with you."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, sweetie. It's a theory."

James scoffed and looked away, shaking his head.

"What if I got you pepperoni pizza? Your favorite." His mother offered.

James tried to tell his stomach to stop growling, his mouth to stop watering at the thought of pizza.

"No. I won't."

"So your goal is to die?"

"Slow and painful. I hurt Katie and I know Kendall knows about it somehow. Katie's his sister- he'd never forgive me. And so I have nothing left to live for except Carlos and maybe Logan, but they'll hate me, too."

"I know you love those heart-attack-on-a-bun things- bacon cheeseburgers? What if I got you one of those?"

"What do YOU care if I starve or not? You obviously don't love me. You basically raised me JUST so I could die in a lab."

"Of course I care. You're my son and I hate to see you deteriorating. And the only way you'll die here is if you don't eat."

"So I'll eventually be released?" James asked, perking up.

"Well…"

James huffed and turned away. He found that he was nauseous and light-headed from his hunger, but the few minutes he was fed through the IV helped a little bit. His head was back to pounding.

"Don't pout, dear, you'll-"

"Ruin my pretty face. I know," James muttered, finishing the sentence that he heard from his mother thousands of times. _Don't pout. Don't frown. Don't smirk. And ESPECIALL don't look so angry at me._

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Bullshit."

"What was that? James Dylan, did you just-?"

"I SAID that's BULLSHIT. You don't give a fuck about me, and if you ever did! It's sick that you would allow this to happen to me. What kind of a mother sits back and watches her only son, only child, get TORTURED the way I am? JESUS! You know, Mom- no- I mean BROOKE- I really did love you. Keyword: DID."

Brooke looked extremely hurt, her hands laying over her chest.

"You're being so insensitive," she said.

"I'M BEING INSENSITIVE?" James exploded, unable to stand and be menacing.

Suddenly his mother's long, boney hand was around his bicep and she easily hauled him to his feet- her son being weak with hunger.

"No! Fuck you! Don't touch me!" James yelled, for the first time realizing that there were people in lab coats everywhere in the room, trying not to pay too much attention, except one woman staring at him, looking vaguely familiar. He tried to struggle but found that he couldn't make his muscles move to their full potential, thus this small and fragile woman having control of him. She easily towed him off to that same hell hole of a room that he was in just ten minutes ago, but this time it had a little bed in it.

She shoved him onto the bed and stormed off, stopping at the big metal door.

"You stay here and think about what you just said to me, young man," she hissed before leaving and staring him in the eyes as she pressed the button and the door closed with a heavy boom that made James jump.

"Fucking bitch. I hate her. HEAR THAT, CRAZY PEOPLE IN THE CAMERAS? I HATE THAT BITCH!"

James felt like he was going crazy. Talking to camera people, starving himself when any other day he would be eating every chance he got, talking back to his mother when he used to be a Mama's Boy, and now he slumped his torso down on the bed, realizing that he had already used up all his energy.

* * *

The shower felt amazing.

Kendall felt the salt from the sweat, the dirt, the oil, the dust, the grime, all rinse off of him as he stood beneath the stream of steaming hot water spouting from the green head right above him. He was in a tiny chemical shower that was about two by two, but he was still so grateful.

He washed his hair, his body, his face, and his feathers with the same bar of soap. He was given a towel to dry off with and simple gym short and a t-shirt, no underwear or socks included. He was just so relieved to be fresh and clean.

_"He entered starvation mode yesterday."_

_"Uh-oh."_

_"Yeah, damn right 'uh-oh'. Who knows how much longer his body will hold up?"_

_"He's using energy rapidly- I'd say he'd be dead by sunrise."_

_"We're not finished with him yet. We can't let him die."_

_"So what do we do? Tranquilize him and give him an IV? We can't reunite him yet- the experiment has no results."_

_"Sure it does. Both organisms are experiencing deterioration already. Psychological breakdowns. And this guy's almost done for good. We have to do it."_

_"So what then?"_

_"We put A with B and see if A can convince B to eat. We'll observe their behavior and see where it goes from there."_

_"Roger."_

Kendall heard the voices distantly from the other side of the lab, where he was dressed and ready. He recognized the first voice as Vincent but didn't recognize the second one.

* * *

James was awoken by the distant scent of pizza. Any other day he would never be able to smell it, but he was so hungry…

He opened his eyes a crack when there was a beep and the sound of the door opening. And there, standing and holding a pizza box, was Kendall. And that's when he knew that he lost it. Perhaps a hallucination caused by starvation. Or maybe he had died in his sleep and this was heaven.

He saw sheer pain in Kendall's eyes when they stared at each other, and the blond turned away in pain.

"Why, James?" Kendall asked as the door shifted open. James was silent, lips too dry to talk despite his bottle of water beside his bed, never been opened.

Kendall turned back and sat beside the bed, looking up slightly to James, who was laying on his stomach on the bed. The scent of the pizza was overwhelming now, making James' stomach lurch.

"Am I dead?" James asked.

"No. Not yet anyway. But they said you will be by sunrise if you don't eat this pizza with me," Kendall said sternly, yet a bit sweetly at the same time.

James still looked unconvinced, staring at Kendall before him. They had all gotten haircuts shortly after moving in with Mama Knight. But Kendall's hair was grown out now, the wet locks falling over his forehead and nearly blinding him. His jaw and above his lip was covered in long dirty blonde stubble.

Kendall reached out and took James' hand, touching the freezing cold fingers to his warm cheek. James gasped and Kendall had to retain the gasp when both their most extreme pains- the stomachache, the headache, James' backache- disappeared.

"I'm real. Right here, trying to get it through you thick skull that you're gonna be dead if you don't eat," Kendall murmured. "And really, I want to dig into this so bad right now… C'mon, baby. I'll feed you," Kendall smiled flirtatiously, knowing this would win James over.

Kendall popped open the box and the scent of the toasted pepperonis, the melty cheese, the crispy dough, exploded through the air.

"NO!" James groaned, holding his breath so he wouldn't smell. His mouth immediately watered, his stomach twisted and turned. "Why do you hate me?"

"Why do YOU hate me?" Kendall shot back.

"I raped your sister, Kendall. That's not okay."

"Sh. Eat first, talk later," Kendall said, climbed to the bed with James and opening the box of pizza and offering the slice to James.

James looked away stubbornly, so Kendall shook his head and brought the pizza box to his lap. He took out a piece of pizza and just took a bite without hesitation. Gosh… It was so good. It could have been the shittiest pizza ever, but to him it was amazing.

James stared as Kendall's mouth worked and at Kendall's eyes already planning out his next bite.

"I bet Carlos would love this. And Logan. Jamie, this is amazing," Kendall said, green eyes flickering to his boyfriend's, who diverted his eyes.

"Jamie. Look at me," Kendall waited for James' eyes to look into his. "It's killing me to see you want to die. Do you understand that? It's not like you to turn down pizza."

"It's really fucking hard."

"Then don't fight it."

James clenched his jaw, squeezing his eyes closed.

"Why the fuck are you so stubborn?" Kendall demanded, getting angry. "Look at me! Don't you see how worried I am about you?"

"You shouldn't be."

"I have no choice! It's science!"

"Don't yell at me," James pleaded.

Before James could open his eyes, Kendall tossed the box aside and was straddling James. But it wasn't a cutesy, romantic straddle. It was a forceful one- Kendall being on a mission.

James' eyes popped open to see firry green ones on his. Kendall's palm was below his boyfriend's jaw, fingers squeezing the hinges.

"Kendall, stop it!" But Kendall took the opportunity to shove the pizza into James' mouth. Despite his instincts to EAT it, James spat it out stubbornly.

"JAMES DYLAN DIAMOND I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE UP!" Kendall growled, trying to pry James' jaw open again. Finally he managed to score again, James finally tearing off a piece.

Before he could spit it out, Kendall smothered him with a kiss.

"Chew, dammit," Kendall demanded, kissing him again. When he pulled away, James was chewing quickly and hungrily. Kendall tried again to feed James, but there was no fight this time.

Slice after slice was fed to James, his fatigue and twisted stomach slowly easing up until his stomach was full- leaving only a slice for Kendall, who ate it slowly and savored each bite. After all the pizza was gone, Kendall pressed his forehead to James', still sitting on him. James' arms wrapped around him as they stared at each other.

"I missed you," Kendall said.

"I figured you'd hate me, so I didn't count on ever seeing you again. And so… That's why I was so okay with dying."

"Babe, I'm scientifically engineered for you. Do you know what that means?" James was silent. "It means I'll always come back. And you'll always come back. ALWAYS. And even though in my heart I sort of hate you for what you did, the urge to care for you and nurse you back to health is stronger somehow."

Kendall's head dropped and he rested the space between his nose and mouth on James' shoulder. Even though James was smelly and gross, he still smelled like James- a scent that Kendall could smell forever.

* * *

Carlos was taken to have his hearing checked on, even though there was zero progress. Logan was taken to the lab, too, to be observed. His hormones, feathers, vital signs- everything. And after that they were taken to the shower, where Carlos went first and Logan was left outside of the shower, naked and clutching his arms for warmth. Even though by the time he got into the shower the water was cold, he didn't hint this to Carlos. The Latino was stressed enough- he shouldn't have to worry about Logan, too.

When they got back to the room in fresh clothes, the room was pitch dark- the window covered completely and leaving no light whatsoever.

Carlos, not able to rely on his sight anymore, clutched to Logan helplessly- fearfully, really. He had never been so vulnerable in his life, and he didn't like it.

"HELLOOOO! THE LIGHTS ARE OFF!" Logan called to the cameras.

"We know," Vincent said over the speaker. Logan had no idea what to do with this completely helpless Carlos. Carlos couldn't hear his voice. Couldn't see his mouth move. His sense of touch was the only useful one left.

He turned and took the trembling boy into his arms tightly. He would never let this body go as long as the lights were off.


	5. The Torture 1

**Guys, please remember. No matter how "good of a writer" I am, this is just a story. There's no reason to be so mad about a story. It's just sort of a warning before you read this. I don't think it's too bad, though.**

**And a few of you reviewed that Logan and Carlos should do nasty stuff in the dark. And that gave me some ideas. Happy Birthday!**

**P.S. Thanks Theweirdblond, just for helping me and stuff. :D**

* * *

Logan was starting to get sweaty, despite the freezing temperature of the pitch-black concrete room he and Carlos were trapped in. Why? Because he had a panicked, deaf, terrorized Latino clinging to him like a leach, afraid that if he lost Logan, he'd never- NEVER have him again.

Logan completely understood why Carlos was so afraid. Without his hearing and sight, Carlos only had to lose contact with Logan for a second before he was completely lost. No matter how much noise Logan made, Carlos would never be able to hear it to track him. Never be able to see him.

And so they lay in the little bed, Carlos asleep, Logan supposed, and Logan a little bit creeped out.

Vincent was a dick. He could make ANYTHING happen at this point, and Logan would literally never see it coming. The bright side was that with one sense lost, Logan's others were heightened. He could smell the gross soap on Carlos' skin from earlier. Could almost taste the intensity. And he could hear every little noise- every time the bed settled and squeaked, it reached Logan's brain as a crazy fortissimo noise that could possibly be danger. What is it? Is there someone here? Just keep Carlos in your grip, Logan. Mother of God, don't let go.

He knew that Carlos was about to wake up when the boy's cheek shifted on his chest to rub against the shirt and inhale, like he did almost every night. Like his unconscious mind just needed to make sure Logan was there for when he woke.

Carlos' fingers found Logan's shoulder and traced down his arm to lace their fingers together, shifting to show that he was awake. Logan smiled through the dark and stroked Carlos' hair.

"Prepare yourself, Logan," came that chilling voice over the intercom.

"For what?" Logan called absently. But that was all.

He felt Carlos' head lift from his chest in confusion both from the change in pulse and the vibrations in his chest.

That poor boy… He had no idea what was even going on in the world anymore.

But suddenly Carlos' hands were feeling up Logan's body until he found his face. Then his lips lightly kissed Logan's face, using the toughness of bone or softness of cheek to gage out where he was. Finally he found Logan's lips. Oh gosh- he hadn't had a kiss in so long. Not on the lips anyway.

It surprised Logan that the one thing on Carlos' mind was kissing. But then again, he understood it.

He remembered reading about the Jews in the holocaust. When they were in the trains going to concentration camps, their last instinct was to have sex. Because they knew they were going to die. Maybe that's what was going on with Carlos.

Logan allowed the Latino's tongue to enter his mouth, missing the way Carlos tasted. When they lived at Mrs. Knight's house, or even when they were traveling together, the two could just sit around and kiss all day, with not a worry in the world. Logan was relieved when that began to happen now- his worries melting away. Every touch was amplified times a hundred, Carlos' fingers trailing lightly over the hairs on Logan's arms just the right way, the feel of Carlos shifting to put a knee on the bed between Logan's legs, propped up on an elbow, the feel of Carlos' growing black hair brushing on Logan's forehead.

But what was magnified by a hundred for Logan was magnified for Carlos by about five hundred. He heard nothing, saw nothing, just felt. Felt Logan's cold hands slide up Carlos' ribs to the sanctuary and warmth of the space between Carlos' white wings and his back. Felt himself be pulled down so that he was practically laying on Logan, their chests together. The feel of Logan's warm lips lightly trailing down Carlos' face and to his neck, where he was sure his pulse was racing with need.

It seemed so wrong, and they both knew it. Their lives were on the line here, underground, where nobody knew where they were. And yet… They were kissing. Making out. Probably going to do the nasty.

Yet… Who cares?

Carlos found that he couldn't stop himself from sitting up and simply tearing Logan's shorts down. Logan might have gasped in surprise. Or maybe not. Carlos had no idea. But he found the hem of Logan's shirt and tore it upwards, hungrily kissing the warm and hard abdomen beneath. Logan's hands wound into Carlos' hair as he kissed the boy's happy trail and downwards, finally making contact with the most important place.

Carlos had no idea that sex could be so… Explosive. Until his hearing and sight was taken away and his hormones started raging. Every trust into him was enough to send him over the edge. Every stroke of Logan's hand around him. Every one of Logan's simple movements- it was too much.

Logan would have giggled any other time, you know, if he wasn't in the middle of the best fuck he had ever had. Carlos unknowingly kept making little whimpering sounds, like he always did, and that was sort of funny to Logan.

Finally Carlos pulled up his pants and collapsed off of Logan to lie on his stomach, cheek on Logan's shoulder, both breathing hard. Logan pulled up his pants and wished Carlos could hear him whisper "I love you" into his ear as he rolled to his side to envelope his little Latino in his warmth, just like every other time. Carlos snuggled into his chest happily just as the door opened and blinding light poured in.

Both boys covered their adjusting eyes in a panic as Vincent entered and the lights turned on.

"Okay, the fuck party is over. Come with me, Logan," Vincent said coldly. "We'll be back for Carlos in a bit."

"Where?" Logan asked.

"Come with me."

Logan sat up and Carlos followed, looking pleadingly at his boyfriend. Logan smiled a little and kissed the Latino a few times to reassure him before he was pulled away.

* * *

Kendall had no idea what time it was when he woke up. Actually, he thought he lost track of time by the second day of being underground. He squirmed a little and found that for once his arms were around James as they slept, when it was the other way around normally. His boyfriend was fast asleep, breathing deeply and burrowed into Kendall.

Over the next few hours, waiting on James to wake up, Kendall had plenty of time to think.

He wanted to just peak into the other room and make sure Logan was taking good care of Carlos. He was sure that Carlos was getting used to his loss of hearing by now, but he was probably still in great need of Logan's help.

Kendall missed Carlos. Not just because he hadn't seen him since yesterday, but he missed him on a deeper level. Before they found James and Logan in Nebraska, Kendall and Carlos were simply brothers. That was it. Kendall was the older, more experienced brother, and Carlos was the baby brother who looked up to his big brother like a superhero, even though Carlos was technically older. Back then, Carlos NEEDED Kendall. Needed Kendall for instructions and support and to be told wise stories and to be held at night when he didn't feel safe.

But now Carlos had Logan.

Logan, the lethal weapon who couldn't die without Carlos' permission. Granted, Logan was much better protector for Carlos than Kendall could be. Logan could give Carlos kisses and hugs and… Other things. Nasty things. Logan would beat the shit out of anyone who tried to hurt his Carlos, and has before. He would slit throats if someone so much as raised their hands to hit Carlos. Not that Kendall wouldn't, but literally the whole reason for Logan's existence was for Carlos.

Kendall supposed he couldn't blame Carlos for replacing him, so to speak. Kendall had James, after all. James, who showed up and knew right away that Kendall was his soulmate. James, who had strong instincts, but a stronger heart. James, who did everything in his power to protect those he loved, who didn't need someone to punish him when he did wrong- he was hard enough on himself as it was, who was so fragile that sometimes Kendall had to choose his words carefully, who was so sweet that even Logan sort of melted around him. Kendall had someone new to take care of, and someone new to take care of him.

Just as Kendall had protected and cared for Carlos, he protected and cared for James. And just as Carlos needed to be attended to at every hour of the day and constantly needed someone to tell him what to do, Logan did just that.

It was then that he realized that Kendall and James had equal rolls in the caretaker and caretake-ee department. Normally James held him when they slept, yet Kendall… Topped… If you will, in the bedroom. Kendall tried to protect James from Vincent, but James protected him from most everything else. Kendall had gotten James to eat again after his fast, but James made sure Kendall ate in general, before they got back into the lab and sometimes Kendall was so worried about everyone else that he forgot to eat. Kendall made sure that James and Carlos didn't get hurt when they wrestled and horsed around, and James made sure to take care of any of Kendall's wounds should he get one. Yes, they were pretty equal- except for one thing.

Kendall had lived in a lab before and knew how life went here. But James was clueless, taking shots in the dark. He was more fragile than before because of it.

So fragile, in fact, that he completely stopped eating, trying to starve himself to death, because he raped Katie when he was drug-induced and out of control. Kendall and even Katie knew that James hadn't meant to do it- science forced him to. Yet still James was determined to die.

Yet another thing to think over. James HAD taken Kendall's baby sister's innocence. Deflowered her in the worst possible way. Perhaps she had been released and memory-wiped by now and wouldn't remember it, and maybe that was for the best, but James would never forget.

Kendall ignored the pit in his heart that was just filled with hatred. The pit that didn't see James as Kendall's scientific soulmate, but as the man who raped his baby sister against her will. The pit that didn't acknowledge that it really wasn't James' fault, only saw the fact that it had happened. Kendall tried to ignore it, but he couldn't ignore that it existed and probably always would.

And when James asked Kendall if he hated him for what he did, Kendall hadn't lied. He said that he DID hate James for it, but that his need to take care of James was overpowering it. And if James asked the same question in the future, Kendall may still say yes. But in the end, Kendall couldn't stay away. And he sort of hated himself for that. He felt that maybe he was betraying Katie by holding this sleeping man in his arms now, lightly rubbing the man's shoulder blade in a soothing manner, his cheek pressed to James' growing hair and James' legs exceeded his and curled so that he could snuggle into Kendall's chest.

James hair was getting long. It used to be short and pushed back out of his face, like Kendall's was, but now, like Kendall's, it was long and shaggy over his forehead.

It was then that Kendall realized that he had no idea what he even looked like presently. He hadn't seen himself in a mirror for weeks- only the faint reflection of himself in the metallic lab furniture in the room at the end of the hall. He supposed his hair was a dirty blonde now as it grew, blinding him when not swept aside. Long dirty blonde stubble lined his jaw and above his lip. He knew he had a different facial hair pattern than Logan and James, but about the same as Carlos. James' hair grew in a goatee around his lips. Logan's basically only grew on his chin in dark black hairs. Then Kendall realized that he was probably losing his mind in this solitude as he laid there and thought about his friends' facial hair patterns.

James stirred and snuggled closer to Kendall.

"Morning, beautiful," he yawned into Kendall's chest.

"Hey."

"How long have you been up?"

"Long time."

"Shoulda woke me up. Sorry," James said.

"Nah- it gave me time to think."

"About?"

"Everything. In the end, the conclusion was that I probably look like shit."

"No more than I do, I'm sure."

"But you look fucking beautiful when you're scruffy."

"I know. Which means I'm saying you're gorgeous."

Kendall giggled and rolled his eyes sarcastically, James' adorable and slightly high-pitched and childlike laughter wafted up to Kendall's ears, muffled by his chest. That kind of laughter that James emitted when he just thought something was hilarious. When something was mildly funny, this laugh was deep and slowly faded away. Kendall loved these little things about James- he guessed because he was scientifically obligated to. He knew that what was said really wasn't that funny. But James had already lost his mind- slipped into mild insanity. So he played along, feeling himself close to that edge, too.

"Can we lay here forever?" James asked.

"What else would we do in this hell hole?" Kendall laughed. James laughed too, then stopped abruptly.

"Do you think they're looking for us up there? I mean… The paparazzi loved me," he said. "And… Like… Wouldn't they be missing us by now?"

"That's a good point… But it doesn't matter. They'll never find us," Kendall said, rubbing James' back gently.

"I guess."

* * *

Logan was surprised to be lead to the left instead of right- the opposite way of the room at the end of the hall. Instead, he was taken to the huge room that he had first seen that day when he and Kendall arrived. It was darker and dustier, the lab equipment was older looking, but there was some newer stuff set up beside a chair, along with the same equipment set up beside a long metallic table right across from it, turned up, legs off, and bolted to the wall, scary looking metallic cuffs on the top and bottom.

"What the-?" Logan began, but something was stabbed into his neck. Another fucking elephant tranquillizer. Fuck.

No, Logan didn't go down. But he also couldn't fight the big men when they roughly pushed him to the metal on the wall. They turned him to put his back to the cold metal and strapped him down.

* * *

Carlos lay in the warm spot where Logan had been just minutes ago, terrified. As soon as Logan was gone, the lights were turned off again. But this time, he KNEW there were other people in here. He saw them when the lights were on. They had been in the far corners with night-vision goggles on this whole time. They had SEEN and WATCHED he and Logan have sex in this very spot.

Carlos clung to the strong scent of his mate in this spot. That added to the warmth made Carlos feel a bit safer… A strange kind of safe. He was completely lost and terrified, unable to see or hear SHIT, but at least he could PRETEND that Logan was there to protect him.

_God loves mutants. God loves mutants. God loves mutants. Don't you, God, ole buddy, ole pal? You'll keep me safe. And Logan. And Kendall and James. Right? You love mutants. You love everyone._

He was sure he must have screamed when a meaty hand closed around his bicep, coming out of nowhere. He thrashed, trying to get away, probably screaming but not so sure, and just trying to get away. There were two guys in the room. That was one out of four hands. Where are the other ones?

He was hauled to his feet, and Carlos couldn't control himself as a leg swept out and connected hard with something. His arm was released and he scurried away, having no sense of direction. All it took was the slight brush of something warm on his arm to send him bolting away.

Right into a wall, where his body slammed into the concrete and his head kept going, smashing into the hard surface. He went down like a ton of bricks, still conscious but holding his head as the men hauled him up and carried him out into the bright light of the hallway, where Carlos was blind.

His eyes were squeezed shut against the light and he was carried for a long time, until he was sat in a hard wooden chair. He opened his eyes as his shirt was tugged off over his head and wires with cold, gooey pads were stuck all over him. His wrists were clamped to the chair with metal cuff-things, as here his feet, and his forehead hurt like hell.

Once the scientists backed away, he was able to look straight ahead. What he saw sent ice into his stomach and chills up his spine.

Logan was limp against the wall, held by his wrists in two metal cuffs that were close together. His black wings, shining purple in the glint of the light, were spread and pinned with huge pins against the wall, like a butterfly pinned up for exhibit. Sticky wires occupied the boy's jugular vein, inner arm, main bone of his wing, over his heart, and a few other random places. He, like Carlos, was only wearing shorts. His head hung limply forward, his black hair covering any view Carlos could have of his face. A monitor beside him beeped slowly, although Carlos couldn't hear it.


	6. The Torture 2

But suddenly Logan's arm twitched and he slowly looked up.

Logan immediately snapped out of his drugged haze when he saw his poor Carlos there, strapped to the chair, looking terrified. The beeping of his heart immediately picked up, quickening.

He struggled against his binds, yelling at the scientists.

"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" he screamed.

"Calm down, Logan," Vincent said half-heartedly, looking like he didn't really care, as he turned on Carlos' heart monitor. The beeping of Carlos' own heart was picking up, too, seeing Logan struggle and not knowing what for.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Logan screeched, trying to gather the strength to break away. Right when he was sure he would escape, a little buzz, almost a shock, ran through his wrists and ankles, stunning him into a surprise and making him stop moving.

"The shock increases every time," Vincent sang. "I suggest you cooperate."

Carlos didn't know what was going on, but the look Logan gave him was one of defeat and sorrow.

"Okay. Let's get started, shall we?" Vincent said, clapping his hands together. He turned to a metallic table at his side and snapped on some white rubber gloves.

"What're you gonna do?" Logan asked calmly, watching Vincent move to his left and look intently at Logan's black feathers.

"Gonna see what makes you tick. And see if you ticking makes Carlos tick," Vincent said simply, before arriving at the middle of Logan's wing. Logan just wanted to flap his wing forward and hit this dude in the face, but it was quite restrained.

Restrained, but not numb.

He felt a feather toward the middle of his wing be torn out of his skin- one rimming the very bottom of his massive wing, about six inches long and very painful to lose, he didn't show Carlos that he was in pain. And the look in his eyes forbade Carlos to look anywhere but in his eyes. Carlos' were the eyes of a scared doe, huge and terrified, watching Vincent work.

_WHAT IS HE DOING? FUCK! THAT MUST HAVE HURT! NO, STOP IT! STOP, YOU BASTARD!_

Carlos could practically feel the pain he imagined Logan must be feeling, and the look on Logan's face proved it to be VERY painful. Carlos struggled, wanting nothing more than to punch Vincent in the nose and help Logan escape.

But Logan locked eyes with his. A strong, forbidding look was given to Carlos, and he immediately stopped moving. Logan had noticed that they had the same restraints, and assumed Carlos would be shocked, too.

Vincent reached up and tugged- hard- on the feather at the very tip of the wing. Logan knew there was only one of these on each wing, and without it he couldn't fly. And it was nearly a foot long, and hurt like hell when Vincent pulled on it.

"Does that hurt?" Vincent asked in mock surprise. Before Logan could say anything, Vincent grabbed the feather in a fist and tore it completely out. Logan wailed in pain, seeing the long feather be tossed to the concrete floor carelessly.

Carlos followed it with his wide eyes, the hollow stem broken and crumpled.

"Oh, was that one important? It's okay- you'll never fly again. You won't need it," Vincent smirked, moving toward Logan a bit. Logan said nothing, didn't dare look Carlos in the eyes, saving the Latino from seeing the pain. Instead, his head hung, his wing throbbing.

"Hm- guess we need to move on to something more painful," Vincent shrugged indifferently as he moved to the table again.

Carlos couldn't stop his eyes from wondering to what Vincent was doing as he approached Logan. When he saw the shiny scalpel appear, adrenaline coursed through him. But what set him off was when that scalpel moved to the vein on the right side of Logan's neck, dragging over it, sending a ribbon of red in its tracks and oozing out. Logan's brows furrowed a little and he bit his lip, but he stayed calm for Carlos. But Carlos couldn't do the same. His hands turned to fists and he made to get up, trying to break free. When it didn't happen, he juggled his wrists with all his strength, then rocked his whole body with all his might.

But the circumstances weren't anywhere the same as Logan's. When Carlos struggled, the shock came in through the cuffs on his wrists, on his ankles, through the sticky pad on his chest and inner arm. Full force- making Carlos' muscles convulse and sending him still.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKERS! YOU HURT HIM! YOU FUCKING HURT HIM!" Logan screeched, blood running in a steady stream down his neck, over his collarbone, over his deteriorating muscles, and soaking the waistband of his shorts. "LOOK AT HIM!"

Carlos fought his bondage weakly, a tear spilling from his eye. Vincent cut his jugular vein- the most important on in the body. Logan was gonna bleed out and he didn't even care. He only cared about Carlos being shocked.

It stunned Logan when he looked down to see blood pooling fast on the concrete below him, dripping off of his knee and pants. It was dark red, absent of much oxygen, Logan having been underground in thick air for so long.

He leaned his head on his right shoulder in hopes it would slow the bleeding.

_Good boy, Pit. Take care of yourself. I'm a big kid now- I'll make it. _Carlos thought, glad Logan was attempting to save himself. He knew that at least humans only had a few minutes of having their jugular cut before they died. He hoped it wasn't the case for Logan.

He DID, however, find comfort in the fact that Logan couldn't die without Carlos' permission. And Carlos couldn't speak. But at the same time… How could Logan possibly live through being drained of his blood?

Logan closed his eyes and focused into himself. Telling his heart to slow the fuck down, or he's gonna die, and telling his blood cells to clot the fuck up. He took deep breaths through his nose, hearing the steady slowing of the beeps on his monitor. Yes, Logan was quite the lethal weapon.

Watching this, Carlos was sure that Logan had fallen asleep and was dying.

But when Logan's eyes opened slowly and focused on Vincent, his mouth saying "is that all you got?", gave Carlos hope.

"Tough cookie, aren't you?" Vincent chuckled. "But now you're weak. And I can do anything."

"Fuck you."

Vincent observed the considerable slowing of the drips of blood to the floor. Logan's chest heaved slowly and his black eyes bore into Vincent's caramel green ones. Logan wondered how Vincent and Kendall could look so alike, yet be so different. Kendall was so caring and gentle, yet extremely protective and leaderly. Vincent was cold and evil, merciless.

"What if I did the same thing to Carlos over there? THEN what would happen?" Vincent asked, talking over his shoulder as he walked toward Carlos. Carlos stared up at the man, horrified.

When Vincent roughly took Carlos' jaw on one hand and pressed the bloody scalpel to his throat instead of vein, Logan went wild.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! YOU'LL KILL HIM!"

Logan thrust himself with all his might forward, hoping he could break out of the bonds. He did this over and over, and only got rougher when he saw the pure terror in his Latino's eyes.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

Logan heard a crack but barely felt the excruciating pain in his right wrist, only focusing on the slight relief and advantage he had over the bonds now.

Here came the shocks now. And Vincent was wrong. He made it seem like the shocks GRADUALLY got worse. But really it just went straight to muscle-jerking, neck-twitching electrocution in his wrists and ankles. Logan didn't stop fighting, though. Not until the blade was taken from Carlos' throat and Carlos' face was thrown from Vincent's hand. Only then did Logan hang limply, acknowledging the pain that the weight sent through his wrist.

Logan's arms twitched and his head jerked to the left, causing the slit in his neck to hurt and spill blood a little more.

"C'mere, Vincent," Logan said strongly, and Vincent approached with a challenging look. "If you hurt him again, I'll kill you. I promise you that. I'm a lethal weapon- you made me this way. So don't doubt me, cause I was created to protect that boy and to kill anyone who hurts him. Got that?"

"I'd like to see you try," Vincent said grimly, and suddenly something was jabbed into Logan's sternum. Logan looked down in shock to see that the scalpel was exchanged with a long, extremely unprofessional looking knife with a wooden handle.

"Do what you want, jackass. Your blood'll be on MY hands pretty soon. I'll bathe in it," Logan growled, and spat into Vincent's face. The saliva ran down Vincent's hooked nose- the same one as Kendall's- and a spine-tingling grin spread across the man's face as he twisted the knife. "I LOVE THE PAIN!" Logan screamed, face grimacing up to the concrete ceiling. "MORE!"

"I'm gonna see if I can't kill you today," Vincent said, letting go of the knife and wiping the saliva from his nose, only to return his hand to the handle.

"Good. Me or you, buddy," Logan challenged. He was glad to see that Carlos was unable to see what just happened, Vincent being in the way.

Vincent grinned and yanked the knife out, blood pouring down Logan's belly button and soaking his pants more. Logan gritted his teeth and groaned in mock ecstasy as Vincent held the knife up to Logan's lips.

"Lick it, asshole," Vincent demanded. Logan, without hesitation, dragged his tongue over the warm red blade, then spat the blood/saliva mix into Vincent's face.

Vincent just wiped it away with a grin and jabbed a finger into the puncture in Logan's stomach.

"YESSSS!" Logan hissed.

"You're a sick bastard," Vincent said simply.

"You have zero room to talk, my friend," Logan taunted as Vincent took his finger from the hole.

"I could rape your little boyfriend."

"You could. But his cute little asshole is too used to huge dicks like mine- he wouldn't feel shit with YOU." Logan shot back, making Vincent grit his teeth.

Logan had to ignore all the pain. The pain in the tip of his wing, where his feather was plucked, and toward the middle. The pain in his neck. The pain in his wrist. The pain in his stomach. The pain in his arms and ankles from being shocked. Because he couldn't think about HIS pain, only Carlos'. And all the pain he was gonna cause this bastard someday. So right now, he had to mock the pain. Say it felt GOOD instead of the fact that he would welcome death right about now. It pissed Vincent off, if anything.

"How do you feel about your teeth? Up for losing some?" Vincent asked grimly, exchanging the knife for a pair of pliers.

"You know, I could go for losing a tooth or two, yeah," Logan challenged. He watched as to goons approached, and one of them slammed and held his head against the wall, holding his forehead firmly, and the other jerked his saw open.

Logan was afraid. Yes, he could snap his own wrist and he could stop himself from bleeding to death and he could smile through getting stabbed. But he had had a tooth pulled before, and although he had been numb, it hurt like fuck afterwards.

He tried to get away from the cold metal pliers as they snaked into his mouth. But a meaty, salty set of fingers found their way in there and held his lower jaw open. He tried biting down, but with no avail.

_Is he pulling Logan's tooth? Why? What's going on?_

Carlos watched in horror as the pliers clamped onto a tooth toward the back of Logan's upper set of teeth. Logan's eyes, like a helpless dog about to be shot in the head, met Carlos', and they stared at each other.

Until the tooth was jerked out, and Logan's eyes squeezing shut. Carlos assumed a scream had escaped Logan's throat.

Logan was released and he panted, staring at the bloody tooth that was dropped into the pool of blood at his feet. Fresh blood dyed his leftover teeth red and dripped from his lower lip, joining the drips from the stab in his stomach.

He was REALLY weak now. He could feel his heart beating once every few seconds. Dangerously slow. Or maybe life-savingly slow.

"How're you feeling, shithead?" Vincent asked.

Logan's breathing was slow. He could feel himself getting overwhelmingly faint from blood-loss and pain.

"Fantastic," he managed.

For the first time, Vincent stepped away and revealed Logan to Carlos.

Carlos squeezed his eyes closed, but the image was etched into his brain. Logan, limp and nearly lifeless, blood covering his torso almost completely. Pouring from a hole in his sternum, dried and caked around the slit on his neck, and dripping from his lip. He struggled to keep his head up. He looked horrible.

And it only got worse, as all of Logan's muscles convulsed and his mouth opened in a screaming way. He was getting shocked. Hard. And it didn't stop. He just kept jerking about, his face turned to the ceiling.

Carlos started struggling. He had to save Logan. Logan was gonna die- soon. Carlos could see that at this point, it wasn't a choice. It was GOING to happen.

Despite the excruciating shocking delivered to Carlos, he fought. Despite his muscles convulsing and his neck twitching, he fought. He didn't hear Logan's orders to stop it. Didn't stop to see that Logan's dosage of shocks were done with.

All he felt was the overwhelming need to get to Logan. To stop the shocking and to break him from his bondage and wipe up the blood and hold him until he was strong again. There, hanging weakly, was his protector. His Superman. And now was the time to be Logan's Superman. Maybe this is what Logan felt all the time- always on edge, aware of everything that might hurt his Carlos.

"CARLOS, STOP IT!" Logan yelled, hoping, MAYBE, if he was loud enough, Carlos would hear. Little did he know, he was hardly even whispering. "STOP! LOOK! I'M FINE!"

But Carlos didn't stop. Not until his nervous system couldn't take it anymore and his went limp, completely stiff, eyes closed and head resting on the back of the wooden chair as his limbs and head twitched against his will.

"Los?" Logan called, going still. What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? "CARLOS! WAKE UP!"

Nobody else seemed concerned that Carlos had passed out. Nobody seemed to notice that the heart monitor attached to Carlos was going wild beeping every second and a half and that Carlos' unconscious body was twitching.

"SAVE HIM!" Logan screamed.

"Save him yourself," Vincent said indifferently.

Logan thrust himself into the cuffs yet again, with all his might, which wasn't much.

But the cuffs didn't budge, after a few minutes. He found himself too weak to continue fighting, and he didn't want to look up at Carlos. But he had to.

Carlos lay there limply, his middle finger the only thing able to twitch now. Logan's hazy eyes looked at the heart monitor, which was now beeping slower… And slower…

And yet still, somehow, Carlos' head lifted.

His lip quivered and tears spilled from those kicked-puppy eyes, which were on Logan's. He was crying because A) he had just been hardcore electrocuted and it hurt, and B) Logan looked on the verge of death. But Logan didn't know about the second one. He only saw the pain and helplessness in those eyes and somehow that gave him strength and motivation.

Once again, he started struggling.

He was surprised at how much strength he had, but what did he expect? His Latino was over there, twitching, cute little lip quivering with fear, and he had to save him. Blood or no blood. His arms, being help up for so long, were numb, which was good because of his broken wrist, and he had too little blood, but still he fought. With all his might.

Suddenly the cuffs released with a metallic snap, spilling the weak Logan into the pool of his own blood below him, the wires tearing from his skin, the pins on his wings tearing holes in his wings.

He laid there, weak, covered in blood, losing consciousness. But there was a quiet, unconscious whimper from above, from the wooden chair. And that brought Logan struggling to his hands, his head raising to look at Carlos, whose eyes were wide.

Logan's breathing was shallow as he somehow staggered to his feet, trying to gain any balance he might have. But the loss of blood dropped him to his knees, a hand shooting out to catch himself before his torso hit the ground.

_No. What's he doing? He's gonna kill himself! _Carlos thought in a panic.

Logan's head hung for a while as he tried to gather himself. He should be dead. He should have been gone when he was stabbed.

Suddenly his stomach lurched and his head automatically jerked to the side, his free hand locking against his stomach, as he puked up bloody foam. He coughed afterward and spat blood onto the floor.

A panicked wheeze and whimper wafted to his ears, and before he knew it, he was on his feet and staggering like a zombie toward Carlos.

"I think you'd better go down, son," said a meaty man, approaching Logan mercifully. Logan's elbow shot out and connected with the man's throat, sending the man staggering back in surprise.

Carlos' mouth dropped as Logan stopped in front of him. His hands curled around the cuffs on Carlos' wrists and simply pulled them off, then Logan dropped to his knees and did the same for his ankles. He found that he couldn't return to his feet, only sat on his knees, breathing hard, unable to believe what he just did.

Carlos sniffled and pulled the light boy up and into his arms. And finally, Logan passed out, with Carlos crying into his bloody shoulder, making sure every breath came, making sure every pump of Logan's heart beat against his skin. Somehow Logan was still alive.

And that was the end of the experiment.

* * *

**Yeah… So that was brutal. But interesting, right?**

**I broke it into two because I got carried away and wrote a whole lot. I haven't had internet for a long time, so I've only been able to write for a while.**

**So… No rude comments, please? Like I said, it's only a story. This stuff didn't actually happen and never will.**


	7. Waking Up

Kendall sat on the bed of his cold cell, head against the concrete wall. He was pissed. He and James had been separated and now he was all alone. They had just been reunited, too!

There was a beep and the door opened. Kendall's day brightened a little when he saw Carlos be pushed in, and the door closed again.

"Los!" Kendall said happily, and jumped up. Before he could hug his brother, he was stunned at the sight of the boy. He was shirtless, his shorts covered in blood. His bare ankles and wrists had burns across them. Tears streaked Carlos' face, but his eyes were angry.

Yet still Carlos initiated the hug gratefully, a fresh round of sobs escaping into Kendall's shoulder. His hands gripped the back of Kendall's shirt and his body press against his brother.

"K-kendall," he sobbed. It didn't occur to either of them that Carlos had spoken.

"What's going on?" Kendall asked, rubbing Carlos' back, cheek on his hair.

"I think Logan's dead, Kendall. Especially since I'm not with him anymore," Carlos sobbed. Kendall backed up and he and Carlos sat on the bed, Carlos' head in Kendall's lap.

"Where did they cut you?" Kendall asked gently.

"They didn't. This is L-logan's blood," Carlos sobbed. Kendall's eyes widened as he observed the massive amount of red stain on his brother's shorts. "I think he bled to death. I mean, he was alive for a while and I held him, but th-then they took him away and I d-don't know what h-happened to him."

Kendall wanted to ask what EXACTLY happened, but decided to let Carlos cry it out and calm down first. So he sat there and petted Carlos' hair for a long time until the sobs subsided and Carlos began on his own.

"We were taken to the huge room at the end of the hall. Not the one with the door, but the other one, you know? And I was strapped to this chair with electric cuffs, and Logan was hung on the wall with cuffs and they pinned his wings against the wall," Carlos began. The fear in Kendall rose with every word, every description of what had happened to poor Logan. From the sound of it, Logan could be dead. And that was extreme- even for his low-life of a father, Vincent.

And if Vincent did this to Logan… What else would he do?

"And I know he's dead, Kendall," Carlos finally said.

"You're exhausted, Carlos. You're not thinking straight. Just- go to sleep, and it'll be better when you wake up," Kendall murmured.

"I can't. I'm scared I'll have bad dreams," Carlos said. Kendall was silent. And finally it hit him.

"CARLOS! YOU'RE TALKING! YOU CAN HEAR ME!" Kendall shrieked excitedly. Carlos slowly sat up, puzzlement on his face.

It was true.

After he woke up from his little electrocution-induced black-out, he was able to hear. But all he focused on was the sound of Logan's slow heart beats. The sound of shallow air going into Logan's lungs… How was that possible? How could he hear those things?

"Holy FUCK!" Carlos squealed, eyes wide. "I didn't even realize!"

The two grinned goofily at each other, despite the horrible thing that had happened.

* * *

James stared down at the mangled body in the bed across from his, which had just been dropped off only minutes earlier. Logan laid, unconscious, possibly dead, mouth hanging open, face resting on its right side, crusted blood everywhere. James couldn't even make out where the blood had come from. The sight made him want to hurl, but there was no time for that.

James dropped to his knees and pressed his ear to Logan's chest. He could make out faint, far-apart bumps of Logan's strong heart, shallow breaths being drawn. Okay… so Logan wasn't dead. But he wasn't far from it.

Seeing him like this… Logan was a person James would never expect to see in a vulnerable state. It scared him a lot.

"Why would they bring you here like this?" James whispered. He noticed that blood was dripping from Logan's open mouth… something in there was bleeding.

EVERYTHING had been bleeding.

James realized that Logan wouldn't wake up for a long time if he was going to. And James couldn't stand having this bloody, mangled, gross body in here forever.

He found himself stripping his shirt off and reaching for the bottle of water he and Kendall were allowed to share. It was about full still, and he poured some of the lukewarm water onto the shirt.

"Forgive me, Carlos. I'm just trying to help," James whispered as he yanked Logan's bloody shorts off. Even though nobody was in there with him, he didn't let his eyes linger.

He didn't know how much he would be able to clean off, so James started at Logan's face. He wiped the blood from Logan's lips and face, then wiped off Logan's neck.

"Sick bastard," James said, eyes wide, as he stared at the slit at Logan's jugular. How was Logan not dead? He was careful not to open the wound again as he moved on, where the blood got thicker and his wet t-shirt turned completely red.

As he scrubbed Logan's pale skin, he discovered all the wounds and started to put the pieces together. OBVIOSULY Logan had been through a lot. Stabbed in the stomach, neck slit, burnt on the ankles and wrists (one wrist was bruised and swollen badly), a tooth was missing, and there were plenty of bruises.

Once Logan was as clean as he could be at the time, James tried using the rest of the water to rinse some of the blood from the shorts, then draped them over the light on the ceiling to dry. For the time being, Logan was naked and exposed.

James sat on his bed, staring. HOW was Logan still alive? HOW?

And furthermore, how would he ever survive? He needed water and nutrients to make more blood, and James imagined he didn't have either. And if he went too long without making blood, he would die.

Obviously nobody was planning on coming in and giving him a blood transfusion or hooking up an IV and oxygen to him. So… Maybe this was a test. Maybe it was up to James to save the boy…

But HOW? There was no more water, and even if there WAS, what was he supposed to do with it? No food, and again, what would he do with it? No IV's, and if there was one, he had no idea how to put it in. No way to give some of his own blood to Logan, even if, by some crazy coincidence, they had the same blood type.

He wished Kendall was here. Kendall, even though he knew nothing about medical things, would know what to do. Kendall always knew what to do.

He wished Carlos were here, because just his presence would give Logan strength. And he was sure Carlos would damn sure find a way to get medical supplies.

But then he realized that he, James Diamond, was the only one who COULD get medical supplies. He could yell, he could punch, he could be scary. And he had the most knowledge of how to use it, his mother being a "doctor".

James quickly got up and ran to the door, pressing his hands to the glass.

"HEY! ASSHOLES!" James yelled, pounding on the glass. One guard turned, but the other said something and he turned back, ignoring James. "MY FRIEND IS DYING! SAVE HIM!"

After a few minutes, he realized that the guards wouldn't help. So he backed up and looked into the camera in the corner of the room.

"LOGAN IS FUCKING DYING! HE CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT HELP, ASSHOLES! HELP HIM!" he yelled angrily into the camera. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

He spent about ten minutes yelling until there was a beep and the door opened. But the person who entered was the last person he wanted to see, even lower than Vincent.

"Brooke," James nodded.

"Oh, come on, Jamie. I'm your mother, call me Mom," Brooke said, rolling her eyes as the door closed.

"Dumb move, closing the door. I could snap your neck and you'd never be able to escape," James said smartly.

"But you won't. Because you love me."

"Not anymore."

Brooke shook her head, unphased, and looked past her son to Logan.

"I've come to make a deal," she said grimly.

"Okay."

"I'll bring you everything you need to save Logan."

"Good."

"This is where the whole 'deal' thing comes in," Brooke said evilly.

"Would you get to the point?"

"I'll bring you all the supplies you need to keep this boy alive. But it'll cost you and your little boyfriend. All can't be well in the world of James Diamond, you know. If I give you everything you need, it means no food for you or Kendall for a few days."

James bit his lip in thought. He knew he could survive a few days without food- he had done it before- and Kendall could survive twice that, with his weird metabolism. But could he do that to Kendall? Take away all his food without him even knowing why? But then again… If he didn't… Logan would die. Then Carlos would be destroyed.

"Deal."

"Great," Brooke said cheerfully. "I'll be back."

* * *

"I wish I knew what was going on with him, you know?" Carlos said as he and Kendall laid in the bed.

"You know, I can guarantee he's still alive. If he had died, I think you'd know it somehow," Kendall said thoughtfully.

"But I can't be SURE."

"If you're with me, then that must mean that Logan's one of two places. Being taken care of in the room at the end of the hall, or with James. Both are extremely safe places."

"How do you figure?"

"If he's in the big room, they're giving him treatments and stuff. If he's with James, James is gonna fight for him, do what he can to save him."

"Or maybe they already burned his body."

"Carlos, I'm telling you. If he had died, you'd know about it."

Carlos was silent, so Kendall rolled over onto his side to stare at Carlos' profile.

"You used to trust me. You used to think everything I said had to be true," he said gently.

"I still do."

"If that was true, you'd know that I was right about Logan."

Carlos was silent yet again.

"I'm your big brother, Carlos. I know what I'm talking about."

"Not really."

"What?"

"No, I mean you're not really my big brother. Sure, you're my brother, but I'm older."

Kendall was stunned. What had gotten into Carlos?

"Well… I still know what I'm talking about. He's not dead. If he was, you'd be dying, too, and I don't think you are."

"You don't know."

Kendall was silent and he rolled over onto his back. Fine. If he wanted to be THAT way.

"I'm sorry, Kendall… I'm not doubting your credibility. But…"

"You're used to Logan saying these things, and Logan makes you feel safer."

"No! I mean, he DOES… But-"

"It's fine, Los. Whatever."

Carlos sighed and rolled over to face away from Kendall.

"I'm just scared. You would be, too," he said softly.

"I know… Just go to sleep."

To Kendall's surprised, Carlos rolled over and snuggled into Kendall, shivering. Kendall knew he wasn't cold. Just freaking out.

"This place… It takes away your sanity," Carlos said softly. "So much that you start being an asshole to your brother and you start actually believing that your soulmate is dead."

"I know, buddy. I think I lost my marbles a long time ago."

"And you had JUST gotten them back," Carlos laughed lightly, making Kendall laugh, too.

* * *

James knelt beside Logan and turned his head carefully to face him. He strapped the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. Okay… Now he just had to figure out how to turn it on…

There was a knob toward the top of the tank of oxygen, which could be turned to different levels. Which level? Gosh, James wasn't a doctor!

He decided on the middle level… It seemed right…

Okay. Logan was still breathing, which was good. The mask fogged up weakly, then cleared, then fogged. Next, James thought he should somehow insert the IV, then he would care for everything else. Oxygen and nutrients- those were the most important things.

James stared at the little tube that was connected to the bag of clear liquid, hanging on the post-thing. How was he supposed to do this? There was a needle on the end… He was supposed to put this in a main vein in Logan's inner arm…

"Fuck this. I'm not a doctor," James hissed. He was afraid that if he messed this up, Logan would just end up bleeding more.

He remembered one time his mother had taken his blood through the vein in his arm. It was really gross, and being a child, James wouldn't look, but he DID remember that she put a rubber-band thing above his elbow, and that made the vein pop out.

He bit his lip in thought, looking around. He needed something to tie above Logan's elbow…

* * *

_"He's a smart boy, Brooke, dear," Vincent observed as he and Brooke Diamond watched James through the camera._

_"I don't know why you expected any less," Brooke said cockily. "Actually, he's quite stupid if you consider how many times I've given IV's in front of him, and still he doesn't know what to do."_

_"I still can't believe he cares this much. I expected him to just let Logan die."_

_"No, he's a sweet boy. He wouldn't do that."_

_"Oh, he's figuring it out," Vincent said, turning his attention back to James on the monitor. He had medical tape in his hands, wrapping it tightly around Logan's left arm, the white tape making a deep indention in Logan's muscly arm._

_"What happens when he stabs a hole in the boy's arm and he loses the rest of his blood?"_

_"Then the boy dies," Vincent shrugged._

_The fact that these bird boys were so dispensable to Vincent scared Brooke a little bit, but that quickly faded._

_They watched as James cleaned the wound in Logan's stomach with alcohol and cotton swabs, dressing it like a pro, as he waited for Logan's arm to be ready. Finally the vein in Logan's inner arm was popping out and James held the needle nervously, biting his lip._

* * *

The smell of rubbing alcohol was thick in the air as James concentrated on the IV. He was just about to insert it when he realized his mistake.

If he put it in now, then started the drip, air would go into Logan's veins. And that couldn't be good. So he started the drip and pinched the tube like a garden hose.

"Okay, buddy. I hope to God this works," James whispered. He half expected Logan to smirk and say "Me, too, asshole. If you kill me, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

So finally James put the needle in at an angle, hoping to God it was the right angle, and let the tube go loose. The clear liquid ran into Logan's arm and there were no leaks, no bleeding. James let out a relieved breath and sat back on the floor.

"And now we wait."

Meanwhile, he cleaned the rest of Logan's wounds and dressed them. He decided that, although he had the supplies, he wouldn't even attempt to stitch Logan up. Not unless Logan woke up and told him to.

He pulled clean gym shorts over Logan, again, not letting his eyes linger, and pulled the scratchy sheet of a blanket over him.

* * *

"I wish they would tell me how he is," Carlos said nervously. He had woken up nervous, hours before Kendall, and now Kendall was barely awake. It had been two days since he was dropped off in this room with his brother.

"Hm?"

"Something's gonna happen today and I wish they'd tell me what. I can feel it. I bet he's gonna die today. Either naturally or they're gonna… Put him out of his misery…"

"Or he'll wake up today."

"Maybe… God, I hope. How are you today?"

"Hungry."

"I know…" Carlos whispered the next part. "Did what I gave you help any?"

Kendall smiled a little. Carlos had slipped him half of his sandwich last night, even though he wasn't supposed to. Kendall, for some reason, wasn't allowed food. But he was okay. Unlike his friends, he didn't need a lot of food to survive.

"Yeah, Los. It helped a lot," Kendall said. It was somewhat of a lie: the food given to him only made Kendall more hungry, but he wouldn't say so.

"Good."

* * *

James had to change the urine bag on Logan that morning. It was an uncomfortable thing, but necessary. The doctors had inserted a catheter, knowing James would be "too stupid" to do it himself, but James still had to take care of it. Yeah, it was gross. But Logan was James' buddy, he guessed, and he'd do the same for Carlos.

"What the fuck're you doing?" Came a low, sleepy grumble, muffled by the oxygen mask. Logan's head shifted, his eyes squeezing shut.

"Logan?"

"No, I'm fucking George Washington. Where's my Carlos? Fuck! My everything hurts," Logan grumbled. James' heart jumped and he hugged Logan- head on the boy's chest.

"You're awake!"

"Fuck! Get offa me!"

James did as he was told, but he stared at Logan like a puppy as Logan's eyes opened and adjusted to the light. James didn't care that Logan was actually, somehow, grumpier than usual. He just cared that he was ALIVE and AWAKE.

"Why am I still alive? Jesus fucking fuck," Logan grumbled. His eyes moved to observe the IV at his side. His hand came up to pull at the oxygen mask, the band snapping, and tossed it aside with a hiss of pain. "My wrist is broken. Hurts like fuck."

"Oh. I didn't know, or I'da taken care of that, too," James said. Logan's eyes finally focused on him, puzzled.

"You did all this?" he asked.

"Well, besides the catheter. But I bet that's for the best. It wasn't much. Just gave you oxygen and an IV and cleaned you up. You're missing a tooth, you know."

Logan nodded weakly and his eyes searched again.

"Where's my Carlos?" he repeated. James had to smile a little. It WAS adorable how Logan called Carlos "my Carlos".

"I dunno. I guess he's with Kendall."

"Well fuck."

"Yeah. How d'you feel?"

"Like a steaming pile of shit. You know, the usual."

"I guess that's normal, considering what you've been through."

"How did you even know how to keep me alive?"

"I didn't," James laughed nervously. "I guess… I learned a lot of it from my mom. But some of it was instinct, I guess."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"WHY? Why did you do all this for me? What did I ever do for you?"

"Well… Nothing. But… I go back further with you than any of the other guys. I know you don't wanna hear this, but you're my buddy. And so is Carlos, and I knew if you died, Carlos would be devastated. And I guess… I just have to look out for my own kind," James said thoughtfully. "You'd do the same for me."

"Yeah… Maybe," Logan said, for once trying to conserve James' feelings by not saying the truth. The truth, which Logan knew to be that he wouldn't have done the same for James. He didn't especially like James, and he didn't have special friendship-love-crap for Kendall, either. Not that he wouldn't look out for James under normal circumstances. But if James was already pretty much dead, Logan would probably actually pressed a pillow over James' face and take him out of his misery. He guessed he and James had two different perceptions…

James nodded and smiled a little.

"Um… So… Thanks, man. For doing what you did," Logan finally said, looking past James at the wall. James looked up at Logan, eyes wide, a grin spread across his face. He never thought he'd hear that from Logan. "Don't look at me that way. I'm not going soft or anything. But I mean- what else do I say?"

"I think that was good. I mean, I wasn't even expecting anything, so that's a plus."

Logan nodded and turned his head to look at the ceiling.

"Did you change my pants?"

"Yeah."

"Don't tell Carlos you saw my dick. He'd be devastated."

James burst into laughter, and for once, Logan giggled a bit. He stopped immediately because of the pain in his stab-wound.

* * *

Carlos laid in the lit-up room, Kendall sprawled out on his stomach on the other bed, asleep. Carlos was just laying there, hands laced over his stomach, staring at the ceiling. Listening.

Listening to the steady and muffled draw-ins and releases of Kendall's breath, Carlos found satisfaction. He would never be able to hear that before he went deaf. But his range of hearing went even deeper than that. He could hear… EVERYTHING.

Kendall's heartbeat was the loudest. The electronic hum of the fluorescent light above them was there. The quiet whispers of the guards outside, who were exchanging lunches, or dinners, or something. Their heartbeats, their breaths, the rustles of their food. Farther on, there were more heartbeats, more breathing, metallic clanging, quiet voices which Carlos didn't care to pay attention to, doors opening and closing, beeping… It was enough to drive him crazy. His world was so noisy when there wasn't one thing he was listening to.

He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath and zoning in on sound after sound. He was hunting. Hunting for that unique heartbeat of Logan's, which he last heard when it was slow and labored. But he had slept with his head on Logan's chest enough to know what it normally sounded like. He tried this an hour ago, but found that he couldn't bring himself to. What if he DIDN'T hear Logan's heart? Then… Then… What did that mean? That meant he was dead.

He shifted from noise to noise. Clangs, voices, breathing, hearts; all growing fainter and fainter as he moved on. Finally he heard a familiar voice.

"I think you'd feel better if he was here."

It was James' voice. Who was he talking to? Who was "he"?

"Well… TRY to sleep, kay? I'll be here when you wake up," James said. Damn. Whoever he spoke to either responded too quietly for Carlos to pick up or they didn't say anything. He assumed James had laid down after that, and nobody spoke anymore.

He listened for hearts. He picked up a strong and somewhat slow one. James, he knew. James had to have a strong heart, and he was big and fit, so it must beat slowly.

There was another one. And as soon as he heard it, his own heart jumped and relief flooded through him.

Bump, bump, bump, bump.

It was the quick beats of a bird-like heart in a man's body, yet somewhat weak. He knew it was Logan, and although he was obviously still bad off by the weakness of the beats, he was alive. And maybe he was even awake, since James was talking to someone. But then again, James could be talking to his unconscious body. Kendall HAD mentioned that he thought James had lost his marbles.

Relief invaded Carlos and he felt like crying.

"He's alive," he whispered to himself.

"Hm?" Kendall grumbled. Crap. He forgot that Kendall had awesome hearing, too. Not near as sharp as Carlos' was now, but sharper than a human's.

"Logan's alive," Carlos said louder this time.

Kendall turned his head to lay his other cheek on the pillow and smile over at Carlos.

"I told you."

* * *

**This might have been a boring chapter to you, but I think it was necessary. James saving Logan, even though Logan hates him, Logan surviving, Carlos getting his hearing back, Carlos finding out Logan is still alive, maybe a little Jagan bromance appreciation forming. So it was very productive. Perhaps the calm before a storm?**

**Hey guys, so I'm going to Niagra Falls for my sister's wedding (that there queer-o-sexual marriage ain't legal in my neck of the woods) and won't be back till Saturday. So that's why I won't be posting or replying to messages from tomorrow night to Saturday. **


	8. Not Even A Choice

Carlos woke up in a cold and dark room. He listened hard, but heard nothing.

_Shit. Shit, shit SHIT! Am I deaf again? I'm gonna fuck someone up if I am!_

"Oh, good. You're awake," Came a familiar voice- Vincent- over the intercom. Carlos let out a sigh of relief, glad he wasn't deaf. "You're in a sound-proof room- hundreds of feet below ground. This is a test, dear Carlos."

"Okay," Carlos said, sitting up.

"In a while, you're going to be taken into another dark room and you're going to find the door and get out of here. You'll find a ladder, and you'll have to climb. You'll find a door, then you'll be outside."

Carlos' heart jumped. Was he being set free? Were the others free?

"This is where you have an option. You can either fly away and never return- free forever, without being pursued."

"Yes!"

"BUT. Your dear 'brother' is buried alive somewhere. I'd say he's got till the end of the day before he suffocates. You can either be free, living alone, OR you can find Kendall and bring him back, where your and Kendall's beloved mates will be waiting for you. And if you think you can go dig Kendall up and run away, you're wrong. If I don't have him here by the end of the day, he's going to be blown the smithereens."

Carlos was silent, heart thundering. Of course there was no choice- he had to save Kendall and come back. But, GOD, how he wanted to be free.

"To help you make up your mind, we're going to bring your friends in."

The lights flickered on, and Carlos covered his eyes as they adjusted. There were footsteps and a voice.

"Carlos!" James said excitedly as Carlos was pulled to his feet and hugged. "Gosh, I've missed you!"

"Hey, buddy," Carlos laughed, patting James' back. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Hey, sugarass," Logan croaked, and Carlos flew backward to see Logan in a wheelchair, looking weak, but alive.

"PIT!" Carlos squealed, immediately straddling Logan and hugging him hard. Logan's face screwed up in pain, but he hugged back anyway. Neither of them had noticed the aches and pains they had from withdraw of one another until they were relieved with the touch of one another. "I knew you were alive! I knew it!"

"You're talking," Logan smiled, pulling away to look at Carlos.

"Oh yeah. You are, aren't you?" James laughed.

"I can hear EVERYTHING, Pit! It's crazy!" Carlos grinned, peppering kisses all over Logan's face.

James grinned as he watched the reunion. He missed Kendall like crazy. Wait… If Kendall wasn't here, where was he?

"Where's Kendall?" James piped up, concerned. This interrupted Carlos and Logan's little makeout session, and Carlos turned to him, then back.

"Oh yeah! I don't have much time!" Carlos said. He told them all about what Vincent told him. "I guess they're testing my instincts. Or my new hearing. Or something."

"You can't go find Kendall. Carlos, you have to be free. You can't come back here."

Carlos went still, eyes solemn on Logan.

"I'm serious. I don't want you to come back. It's not safe here."

"But if he doesn't come back then Kendall'll DIE," James growled, gripping the handle of Logan's chair angrily.

"Well then you have to go find him and run away with him," Logan said.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" James retorted.

"James, calm the fuck down! Vincent told Los that there was a bomb in him once before and it was a bluff! Can we really trust this guy with what he says about explosives?"

"It's too risky. What if he's not bluffing? I don't want Kendall even POSSIBLY being blown up. No way."

"Los. Look at me," Logan said seriously. Carlos tore his eyes from James to lock with Logan's. "I know you love Kendall and I know you don't want to disappoint James. But you have to run away. This is your only chance, and I hate having you here, where you can get hurt so easily. Go. Be free. I'll miss you… But it's the way it has to be."

Carlos' breath was shaky.

"No." He said weakly.

"No?" Logan challenged.

"No. I'm not gonna let him die. He's my brother."

Carlos hated disobeying anyone- ESPECIALLY Logan. Logan always knew what was best for Carlos, and always knew what SHOULD be done. And Logan knew that he had a huge influence on Carlos' decisions.

"Don't you see? We're all gonna die down here anyway! It'll make Kendall's sooner and you'll be able to live and maybe get help!"

"No, Logan. I'm serious," Carlos said strongly, getting up from Logan's lap. Logan was surprised. Carlos had never- NEVER- rebelled against him. Not that Logan was a control freak- just that Carlos did basically whatever he suggested. "If you think I'll put myself and your wishes before Kendall, you're wrong. You would want James to save ME if it were him."

"But that's not what's going on."

"You're so SELFISH! Yeah, I could go and be free, whatever. But then Kendall would be dead. James would be destroyed. You'd be alone. I know you're only thinking about what's best for me, and I love you for that, but that's not how I think."

"Did you just call me SELFISH?"

"Yeah, cause you are! Actually, I guess you only think about me and you. Nobody else. I'm the opposite! And you know, maybe we're too different."

Logan's jaw dropped, his brows furrowing.

"Carlos!"

"James has been so awesome to you and you still want to kill his boyfriend! What the fuck IS that, Logan? What's wrong with you? Don't you care that my brother's life is a stake? Don't you care that if my life is saved, it's at the expense of two other ones? Maybe even three! Who knows what the aches and pains of being away from each other lead to? If Kendall DIED, we all know James would, too. Don't you care?"

Logan was speechless. Carlos NEVER talked to ANYONE like this. Especially not Logan.

"You're some kind of monster. You know that? You're sick."

James was shocked to see Logan's black eyes well up with tears. Carlos stopped and stared, horror in his eyes.

"Whatever, Carlos! Fine! Just go! Do whatever you fucking please!" Logan said angrily, a tear slipping down his pale cheek as he looked away. "Excuse me for loving you!"

"Daylight's wasting!" Vincent sang over the mic."When you're ready, go into the dark room."

Carlos blinked, still staring at the tears on Logan's cheeks, then turned to James. For a split second, James was sure Carlos was going to tell him "Tough shit, buddy. I'm leaving."

"I'll be back. Don't worry about Kendall," Carlos said softly. He glanced back at Logan solemnly, who still wasn't looking at him, and turned to the door leading into darkness.

* * *

Carlos guessed he didn't have heightened instincts or anything, because it must have taken him an hour of bumping into walls and falling on his ass to find the little room with the ladder.

He took a second to compose himself before starting to climb.

He climbed with his eyes closed, because he couldn't see anything anyways. The ladder must have been hundreds of feet long, which meant a long time of silence- Carlos' only option being to think.

He felt horrible for being such a dick to Logan. He had never spoken to anyone that way, and the fact that he was so harsh on Logan made him want to scream. That wasn't him that yelled at Logan. It couldn't have been. He was CARLOS- the sweet little Latino who hated to hurt anyone's feelings- much less the love of his life's.

And Logan had cried.

Carlos didn't believe he had EVER seen Logan cry. He knew it probably embarrassed the boy to let tears fall in front of James, too. Just the fact that Logan DID cry meant a lot. It meant that what Carlos said really got to him, and that it really hurt him bad.

But Logan had to understand that Carlos was serious about the matter. He would NOT let Kendall die and Logan did NOT have complete control over him. And besides- if Carlos DID be free, Kendall would die, James probably would, too, and Carlos would never see Logan again.

But maybe calling him a monster and "sick" was a little over the top. That's what really scared Carlos. The excess. The evil part of him that wanted to make this beautiful creature hurt.

Carlos was… Was losing it. Wasn't he?

_NO! You're still sane! You just got carried away is all._

_Then why did I yell at him for so long? Why did a little part of me want to make him hurt?_

_You're not crazy. NOT. _

_Kendall said that James had already lost it… Maybe you have, too._

_I'M NOT CRAZY!_

Then Carlos realized… He was having an internal argument with himself. And if that wasn't crazy, he didn't know what was.

Finally Carlos' head hit something hard, making a thumping noise and sending pain through his skull.

"Fuck!" he hissed, rubbing his head, careful not to lose grip on the ladder. After he was okay again, he felt around for the door.

* * *

"LET ME OUT, YOU FUCKING PHYCOS!" Kendall screamed, pounding on the wood above him. He felt like he was in a movie where the main character was buried alive in some sketchy wooden coffin. He was pretty sure that's what had happened, considering it was pitch dark and there was some gritty substance that sprinkled on him when he pounded on the top. The only light came from a steady flash of a tiny red bulb, which turned on then blinked off every few seconds.

He had felt around as much as possible and concluded that he was in a wooden coffin-type thing. It was about two feet high and seven feet long, with just a few inches exceeding his shoulder span. It was freezing, so Kendall had long since wrapped himself in his warm wings.

He had been yelling for a long time, but nobody answered. It was then that he realized that he had no idea how long or how much longer he had in this box, so he shouldn't use up his air on yelling.

* * *

James sat on his bed, watching with wide eyes as Logan laid in his own bed, facing away, sobbing. Sure- he wanted to go over there and comfort his friend. But right now, he hated Logan. So much.

Logan had suggested that Carlos leave Kendall to die. That was something James would never take lightly.

"Stop fucking STARING! I can feel you looking!" Logan said angrily over his shoulder.

"Crying isn't something to be embarrassed about," James said simply.

"It is when you're me," Logan said, still facing away.

"I mean… You could talk about it. Even though I hate you."

"Join the god-damn-mother-fucking club. Even my Carlos hates me!"

"Well maybe if you weren't such a dick, I'd like you."

Logan was silent for a long time before speaking.

"I don't care that you hate me."

Logan was silent for a really long time, leaving James sure that he had fallen asleep. Not that Logan would talk more anyways.

"We're built different," Logan said suddenly, not a sign of weakness or tears in his voice. "I'm built to not give a fuck about anything and not care about anyone except Carlos. You're built on instinct- taking care of your own kind and those you love. I'm strong all the time- always stone. You're soft when you need to be and tough as nails when necessary. I don't care about yours or Kendall's lives if Carlos' is involved. Don't get offended- just telling it how it is. So when I had an option- Carlos' safety versus Kendall's and possibly yours? I didn't even have to think about it."

"It wasn't your choice to make," James said, getting angry.

"Okay! Fine! I get it- you hate me! It's nothing new, James, I don't care!"

"I think you DO care. Because Carlos is pissed off at you and won't be back for a long time. And right now you're emotional for the first time in twenty years and you have no cute little Latino to hug you through it! I'm all you have, and-"

"I don't need anybody! I'm a fucking lethal weapon! I'm engineered to not depend on anyone, and that's what I plan on doing! So leave me alone and let me fucking SLEEP until he gets back!"

"Until he gets back and you apologize and shower him in kisses and plead for forgiveness."

"Whatever."

"You're such a hardass all the time- and it's fucking annoying. But then I watch you with Carlos… It's like you're a whole other person. You're so gentle and so sweet and you actually SMILE and laugh and you kiss him like he's a baby bird or something… I don't understand it."

"I don't either. But… When he looks at me with those big, shiny black eyes… All the tension melts. Every time he touches me, it's like he's telling me that everything is okay and that I'm home. When he's in my arms… It's like I could go months without food or water if I could just hold him. And I'm sure I could, too. And his kisses are so gentle… I'm afraid that if I kiss him back too hard, he'll break. He's… He's like my little angel…"

James was silent, in awe. Logan had never talked this way to him. And somehow… That monologue had explained Logan's reasoning behind everything he did. Especially behind ordering Carlos to be free and let Kendall die.

"I guess you're lucky… I only talk that way to Carlos late at night when we're alone. Only sometimes. But you… Somehow you always make me want to just confide in you."

"Maybe we all have some sort of aura about us. I apparently make people want to talk about their feelings. Carlos makes them feel loved. Kendall makes them feel like there's always a plan. And you… Even though you don't care about me… You still make me feel safe."

Logan turned and looked at James, confused and a bit timid.

"Cause I think… If someone came in here with a gun right now and pointed it at me, you'd kick their ass. No matter how much you say you wouldn't, I know that if Carlos was safe, you'd protect me. Am I wrong?"

Logan thought about this a second.

"No. No… You're not wrong."

James nodded and thought about this. A few weeks or months ago, Logan would have NEVER talked about all that. His love for Carlos, how bad he was hurt, what he cared and didn't care about, and admitting that he would protect James if he had to. He would have never even cried in front of James. So what had changed? Logan was weak… Deteriorating… Somehow. His wall was crumbling.

"This is some sort of a test," James said in realization. "They're keeping us here for so long with no way to tell the future, with no way of protecting our mates, to literally drive us insane. To make us weak. To make our minds do things that we don't want them to do."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious! Carlos is losing it! Why else would he hurt you so bad on purpose? YOU'RE losing it- you're CRYING, for Christ sake, and talking about your feelings. I lost it a long time ago- I guess when I refused to eat for all that time. Kendall… He's strong. He's the leader. But he'll lose it soon. They're breaking us physically and emotionally and seeing what will happen! Don't you see?"

"Whatever. Everything in this shithole is a test- I don't care. Look… I'm tired. Can we just go to sleep?"

"Yeah."

Logan nodded and closed his eyes. James did the same, but he was thinking much harder than Logan's sleepy mind would allow him to. James was thinking about his poor Kendall- buried somewhere, helpless, suffocating, attached to a bomb. He wished he was the one who could rescue him. Sure- he didn't have superhuman senses like the rest of them, but he knew he could find Kendall if he was in China if he had to.

He felt his lip quiver and a tear slip down the crease of his eyelashes. What he didn't know was that Logan saw it all. And he himself was on the verge of doing the same.

"Don't worry, James," Logan said quietly. "Carlos won't let you down. I promise."

"I know he won't," James said shakily. "I'm just so worried."

"Me too…"

James sniffled and rolled over to face away from Logan as he continued to cry.

Logan sighed and got up, approaching James' bed.

"Scoot over," he said in defeat. James looked over his shoulder in confusion, but Logan just gestured for him to lay closer to the wall. James obeyed, puzzled, and almost went into shock when Logan laid beside him on his back, an arm behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

"Logan? You're scaring me."

"I think you're right. I- I AM insane. But… I'm worried, too. And I'm really freaking out about Carlos being mad- this has never happened before. I just… I think I just needed someone there, you know?"

"Me, too. Thanks."

Logan was silent and James laid his head back down. Logan stared at the feathers on James' massive wings. They were a pretty color- the color or ashes. A light grey.

"But we don't say ANYTHING about this to Los. Got it? Not about this and not about you changing my pants and catheters those times and seeing my dick. He'd be devastated."

James chuckled a little- this was the first time Logan had ever made him laugh.

"And we don't breath a word of that conversation to anyone, either. I mean- I know the cameras heard. But I can't have Kendall knowing I actually have a weak side. And Carlos can't know that I'm breaking down… It'll scare him."

"He's a fragile guy, isn't he?"

"No. He's the strongest person I know. But… I'm his rock, you know? And if his safety net starts tearing, then what? Nothing. Besides- I like to be careful with him. He makes me gentle."

James smiled a little to himself.

Logan, for the first time in his life, felt that he had a friend. Not really a FRIEND so much as a… buddy? Anyway, he guessed it might have been James saving his life, or James seeing him almost dead, or James seeing him cry, or James taking care of him, or James talking about his feeling with him. Whatever it was, there was a bond there. Maybe not a strong brotherly bond or anything, but it was a start.

* * *

_"He's breaking faster than I thought," Brooke Diamond said, brows raised. She and Vincent stared at Logan and James talking, the screen illuminating the dark room, their voices barely decipherable because of the volume at which they spoke._

_"I think he broke a long time ago. He just refused to show it," Vincent observed._

"I guess you're lucky… I only talk that way to Carlos late at night when we're alone. Only sometimes. But you… Somehow you always make me want to just confide in you,"_ Logan said on the screen._

_"I don't think it's James. I think it's the fact that Logan is weak without Carlos, and finally has a chance to safely break down. He couldn't do it in front of Carlos- it would scare him. Make him lose hope. But I think he trusts James somehow- like all the bird boys do. And he trusts James to not tease him or make him feel bad or tell anyone about anything he says," Vincent said carefully._

_"He always was such a sensitive, yet strong boy," Brooke nodded. _

"Maybe we all have some sort of aura about us. I apparently make people want to talk about their feelings. Carlos makes them feel loved. Kendall makes them feel like there's always a plan. And you… Even though you don't care about me… You still make me feel safe," _James said._

_"What do you think?" Vincent asked Brooke, who had majored in not only medical sciences, but also dabbled in animal sciences. Obviously- since she was able to give her son wings._

_"It sounds strange to us as humans, but they have strong instincts. Stronger than oursI think, like birds, they can have special bonds together. Like, for instance, they have chosen Kendall as their leader and Carlos as the one they must protect. It's very possible that Logan makes them feel safe and that James is the emotional rock. But honestly, I think it's something else. I think that somehow when they met, Logan had imprinted on James and vice-versa. Perhaps because they were the first of their kind that they met. And the same goes for Carlos and Kendall."_

_"Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" Vincent scowled at himself. _

_Brooke's explanation had taken up a lot of time, but when they turned back to the monitor to see Logan laying in the bed with James, it shocked them. James was the first person outside of Carlos to receive any sort of affection from Logan._

_Brooke nodded. It was definitely the work of imprinting. Logan acted as if he were in love with James, just the tiniest bit, but she knew that wasn't the case. She knew that in Logan's and James' heads, this was completely natural. And if Carlos and Kendall were to see it, they would know exactly how their mates felt, because they felt the same way about each other. _

_Yes, Logan Mitchell, the lethal weapon who was manufactured to be seamless and without a crack in his wall, was breaking._

* * *

**I meant to write all about Carlos' adventure to find Kendall, but I got carried away with the Logan/James thing. It'll come, though.**

**And with the imprinting thing- I know a lot of you think that's stupid, and whatever. But I wanted to show that Logan was breaking enough to cry and to talk to James about it. I'm not gonna make the imprinting thing a big deal. I also wanted to show that the boys had an animalistic side, too.**

**So how is the storyline? Do you guys like it?**

**I need big help from you guys. About a possible plot idea. So if you are very opinionated or just wanna help out or wanna possibly be my best friend, then PM me. The codeword is "Chicken Boots". I'll know what it means.**


	9. Stuff Goes Down

Carlos crawled out into the blinding grey light of Hollywood, California. The grass that he laid in in exhaustion was wet with rain, which was pouring steadily. He breathed heavily as large drops hit his cheek and soaked his dirty clothes. His arms and thighs ached from the climb and his dark eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the new light.

Finally he was able to get up and look at his surroundings. He had just come out of the little door that was carved into the Hollywood sign. The sky was grey and bright, rain was coming down fast. To his left were trees. To his right-

To his right was a drop off and a city. Freedom.

He found himself running and leaping off of the cliff, his dirty white wings snapping out. But they were weak, having not even been opened for God knows how long. It took a few flaps for the air to catch his wings and carry him upward again. Oh, God. He missed flying. The air blew his long hair, the heavy rain cleansing his skin, his feathers, his clothes, his soul.

He flew and flew until he realized how thin the air was and that he was in the middle of a raining cloud. He could barely see the Hollywood sign now, but GOD did he want to just keep climbing.

Carlos wished that Logan were here to fly with him. They talked all the time about how much they missed flying, and what they would give to just have one last flight. He wished Logan were here to tackle, Logan's wings failing under the extra weight and they would plummet toward the ground. Then Carlos would snap out his own wings and they would arch upward- just like old times. He hoped Logan wasn't still upset about what Carlos said to him earlier…

He let out a howl of pure happiness- it felt so good to yell and scream and stretch his limbs. It was like he was waking up from a very long nap.

Finally his weak wings started getting soar and tired, so he was forced to make his way to the ground. He folded his wings, free-falling for hundreds and hundreds of feet, falling with the rain, loving the freedom. So much that he almost forgot to flip out his wings before he hit the ground.

The first thing he did on the ground was find a gas station. There, he stuffed four corndogs into his pants and left, feeding them hungrily in his mouth as he walked down the street. People beneath umbrellas gave him strange looks- the dirty, shaggy, stubbly-bearded, thin Latino who was stuffing corndogs in his mouth.

His mind flashed back to the time that Kendall stole corndogs for him. It was when they had just broken out of the lab and were living in the woods. When Kendall came back with the food, Carlos was shaking in fear of the "Blair Witch", and Kendall fed him and protected him through the night. That was before they knew James and Logan. Kendall was a great brother.

Kendall.

KENDALL!

"Well, fuck," Carlos muttered, dropping the rest of his last corndog and kicking off of the ground to take flight at the remembrance of his mission to rescue Kendall.

* * *

"Vincent!" Brooke Diamond called, excitedly entering Vincent's camera office.

"Shh! Woman!" Vincent hissed, although Logan and James were still asleep on the monitor.

"She's ready- HURRY!"

Vincent's eyes grew and he jumped up, leaving his chair to swivel wildly as they exited the room in a hurry. Brooke was practically running to the room at the end of the hall, and she had to wait for Vincent to catch up before they could enter the big lab.

Inside was the normal scene of metallic furniture and instruments, except this time there was a girl in the examining chair. A girl with a lump beneath her dirty smock.

"Jennifer! DARLING!" Vincent grinned evilly. The girl stared at him and smiled, not knowing what he said but just liking Vincent in general. He HAD, after all, allowed her to look in on the cute bird boys on the computer and given her hot food. "Let's see how our little bird baby is cooking."

Jennifer, whose real name was Swiss, as she was from Switzerland, smiled and rubbed her bulging stomach. She had only been carrying the baby for two weeks, most of which happened in Switzerland, but she already looked like she was four or five months into a normal human pregnancy. Brooke pulled her long blonde hair back into a tie and removed the girl's smock, revealing the stereotypical Swiss shape of being thin and top heavy- well, not thin, considering she was pregnant.

After Vincent neared her with an ultrasound machine, Brooke began checking Jennifer's vital signs, including the rabbitlike race of her heart, the quick breaths, the adequate hearing, and any changes in her feathers.

"They're changing," Brooke observed, pulling out one of Jennifer's massive wings to show Vincent, who was busy hooking up the machine but looked up anyway. When Jennifer was first artificially inseminated, her wings, like Carlos', were pure white. Now about half of the feathers were turning a silvery grey. "They used to be just white. Now some are turning grey."

Vincent observed this as Brooke wrote this down.

"Perhaps it's a sign of aging. Maybe pregnancy speeds up the aging process," he noted.

Finally he was able to start the ultrasound. He was eager to see if the child inside was in an egg or a placenta. This was the first bird baby ever to grow in a woman, save Logan. Well, it was the first bird baby with a hybrid mother and father. Vincent was eager for it to be born, to see how the father of this baby and his mate would react to it… He knew his four bird boys were slipping into insanity, and he wondered what this particular insane boy would think.

Jennifer squealed slightly at the cold jelly and metallic instrument pressed to her skin. They turned to the monitor to look.

All of their eyes grew at the beautiful and appalling sight. Rolled into a little ball with the classic large alienlike head, was a human baby. But at its tiny back were two bones with a joint in the middle, sticking out from the spine.

Jennifer said something in Swiss, but both scientists disregarded her, not having a clue what she said.

"It looks like a girl, but it's impossible to be sure. This is a new species, after all," Vincent said to Brooke.

"Do you think it's in an egg or a placenta?"

"Definitely a placenta. Which means that if this thing grows feathers, we have to do a C-section."

Brooke nodded and wrote all this down. Vincent wiped the jelly from Jennifer and put his big, evil hands on her stomach.

"But there's no telling if the shell of the egg will form last minute. Right now it's soft, but perhaps once it is ready to come out, the shell will harden," he said.

"Great. Now- when do we tell Him?" Brooke asked, looking up from her clipboard.

"Not until the child is born."

* * *

Carlos landed atop the "O" in the Hollywood sign, sitting on the wetness and focusing into the sounds around him.

The loudest was the tip-tapping of the rain on the sign. He heard animals in the trees. Lots of faint little heartbeats. Cars beeping in the city. Trees creaking.

He knew what Kendall's heart sounded like. It was slow and steady, the second bump of each "bump bump" stronger than the first. Kendall's breaths were slower and calmer than Carlos' own fast ones.

Bump… Bump…. Bump…

BUMP! Bump. BUMP! Bump.

Bumpbumpbump.

Bump bump. Bump… Bump bump.

None of these heartbeats belonged to his brother.

Flustered, Carlos tipped off of the "O" and flew West, his ears like a radar, listening to all the heartbeat patterns. He flew low, knowing that Kendall was buried.

He must have flown for an hour before he heard a beat like Kendall's. He landed in the city, following the sound.

His own heart raced as he followed the sound, knowing the sun would be setting in an hour. If this wasn't Kendall, then what hope was there of finding him?

He entered a bar- a strange place for Kendall to be trapped. Maybe he was in the basement or something. The bar was dimly lighted, big and tough looking biker dudes everywhere- arm wrestling or showing off knives or drinking. They all stared at the scrawny, soaking-wet Latino walking around, following the sound of the heartbeat in the sea of strong ones.

FINALLY he found the source. And it wasn't Kendall.

He looked up from the ground to see that he was in front of the bar. Standing there behind it, leaning on the bar, was the bartender lady in an extremely low-cut shirt and a lot of makeup. She was probably forty and was looking at him flirtatiously.

"Can I help you, honey? How old are you? I'd say… Seventeen? I like the young ones," she winked. Carlos' eyes widened. This lady was the one with Kendall's heartbeat?

Her veiny hand with long red nails on it reached out to him, but he stole away and out of there before he could be questioned.

"FUCK!" Carlos screamed to the rainy outside. The street was flooding now, and there were waterfalls feeding into the gutters. He got a few strange looks at his outburst, and nobody could tell rainwater from tears as he stormed down the sidewalk, into an alley, and then into the air.

* * *

Kendall's eyes were squeezed closed, trying to slow his heartbeat. The air was hard to breathe now, and he knew that if his heart was slower, he didn't need to breathe so much. He had given up on pounding on the box- it was no use and a waste of energy. Besides- he didn't have a plan even if he succeeded in breaking the top. Dirt would cave in and crush him.

He found that he was entirely too nervous to focus on his heartbeat, and began to cry. He was suffocating, and that scared him.

* * *

Meanwhile, James lay in his bed, head on his bicep, staring at the sleeping Logan beside him.

He looked so peaceful. Logan was on his side, facing James, arms crossed over his chest to keep warm, lips relaxed, lashes casting a shadow over his cheeks, black stubble looking scratchy on his chin. His breathing was somewhat fast and sharp, like a bird's. The cuts and scrapes from his previous torturing were mostly healed.

James loved to watch Kendall sleep, too. Except he couldn't touch Logan- couldn't stroke Logan's cheek or brush his thumb over his lips. Nor did he really want to.

Suddenly, Logan's lashes fluttered and his black eyes opened to focus on James. He was used to dreamy dark eyes on his when he woke up, if Carlos arose before him, which was rare, but these eyes were hazel…

"JAMES!" Logan screeched, scrambling and falling off of the bed to the concrete floor. He sprung up and backed away, eyes wide. "Where you WATCHING me sleep?"

James sat up, hands up in surrender.

"That's not okay!" Logan squeaked. James looked puzzled. "I'm sure it's okay to Kendall, but NOT to me!"

"It wasn't like that!" James argued. "I didn't wanna wake you up, so I just laid there and what else was I supposed to look at?"

Logan rubbed his face with his hands, shaking his head and sitting on the opposite bed.

"So I guess Los didn't come back?" he asked, looking tired.

"Guess not. Wonder what time it is… How long were we asleep?"

"No idea…"

"You don't think Carlos… Ran away?" James asked.

"I don't think so. He told you he'd be back, and we all know he doesn't lie."

"But… I bet he got to flying and… Just couldn't bring himself to-"

"He wouldn't," Logan assured. James nodded, looking at the floor.

"Man… What I wouldn't give to fly right about now…" James sighed.

"Me, too," Logan agreed.

James got up and stretched, relieved when his wings opened and stretched beyond normal, blood rushing to the ends.

"Oooooh shit that feels nice," James sighed, his wings slowly folding again.

"Now what?" Logan asked, mind racing. He had no idea what time it was and if Carlos was gone forever or not, and wanted to be distracted.

"We wait," James shrugged indifferently.

* * *

Carlos sat on a hill about an hour from the Hollywood sign, just looking at a city and bawling his eyes out. He had failed Kendall. FAILED him. He spent all day eating corndogs and flying and looking in all the wrong places, and now he was going to die.

James was going to be destroyed.

Carlos considered just running away, never to be seen again, just so that he wouldn't have to face James. But then again, Logan was in the lab.

What if he went to the police and they busted the lab?

No… Carlos had a tracker and was probably bugged with a mike. Vincent would know about it and relocate or maybe release poison into Carlos through the tracker or something horrible.

He sniffled and reached over to the shiny and rain-washed spade he had picked up a while ago, planning on using it to dig Kendall up. It was still pouring rain as the sun began to set, and Carlos ran his finger over the sharp edge as the last of his tears mixed with rain.

"KENDALLLLL!" he screamed in pain, allowing himself to fall back into the mud and grass. He felt so miserable.

Suddenly there was a muffled pounding- weak, but there.

"I'M HERE!" came a muffled scream. He sat bolt-right, eyes wide. Okay, so he was hearing things…

He listened hard, hearing labored breathing and a heart just below him.

Bump BUMP! Bump BUMP!

"KENDALL!" he yelled, getting to his knees and thrashing at the mud where he sat. "STAY WITH ME, BUDDY!"

XXX

Kendall could hear the faint and muffled voice above him. He could feel the air getting thick until he was only a few breaths away from being out of oxygen. Now that the person knew he was there, he would savor the air until he was freed.

He took a breath every ten seconds, hearing the person digging closer and closer.

"KENDALL?" the person yelled, panicked.

"HURRY!" Kendall yelled back, but suddenly he realized that that was his last bit of air. He held his breath for a long time- about a minute and a half that felt like three hours, until he finally had to take a breath. But there was no oxygen for him to breathe- only carbon dioxide.

XXX

Carlos could hear Kendall's final breath, his heart slowing down dangerously.

"STAY WITH ME!" Carlos yelled, using all his might to jump on the top of the wood box, which was buried a few feet beneath the somehow perfect grass. It took multiple tries before he got to his knees and used the spade the stab through and rip to top off chunk by chunk.

Kendall was unconscious inside and nearly invisible by the darkness descending on the day, making Carlos panic. He didn't even stop to listen as he pulled the limp body out and into the wet grass, all muddy and wet. Rain stained Kendall's clothes, mud streaking them.

The only CPR Carlos knew was that that he saw on TV. He knew to listen for Kendall's heart, which was beating very slowly. Then pinched Kendall's nose, opened his mouth, and breathed into it. He felt like this probably wasn't right, but it was all he knew!

"COME BACK TO ME!" Carlos yelled, repeating the notion over and over, until he was exhausted. Kendall was still alive, though, and Carlos laid his head on his brother's chest. "Kendall! PLEASE!"

Suddenly the chest on which Carlos' head was on raised sharply and deeply. Carlos shot up to his knees, watching as Kendall sat up, gasping for air, coughing, sputtering, holding his chest.

"Kendall! I thought you were dead and I tried so hard to find you and I'm sorry it took so long and I'm so glad you're alive and-"

"LOS!" Kendall cheered, and suddenly Carlos was being bear-hugged tightly. "You saved my life! I was so sure I was a goner!"

"We have to hurry up and get back to the lab! There's a bomb!" Carlos said in realization, jumping up and almost falling as Kendall was still on the ground. "HURRY UP!"

"Los! There's not a bomb!" Kendall assured, getting up slowly- long hair dripping as he resisted his brother's tugs. "I promise."

"But he said if you weren't back by the end of the day-"

"Carlos! Look! It's past dark- don't you think I'd be blown up by now?" Kendall said matter-of-factly. Carlos looked around in realization. "Why can't we just- run away?"

"Logan and James are still at the lab. We couldn't leave them. And I'm positive that we're bugged and tracked- they'd know if we went to get help."

"Gosh, I miss my baby," Kendall groaned. "And maybe I even miss Logan, too."

He looked up at Kendall, eyes lit up before he slammed into him with a hug.

"I love you," Kendall said dreamily, squeezing Carlos. "Let's fly."

Without warning, Kendall broke from Carlos' grasp to kick off of the ground- magnificent multicolored wings spreading and giving a strong, much needed pump. Like Carlos', Kendall's wings were weaker now and it took a second for them to adjust to being in use.

Carlos grinned and followed his brother into the dark abyss of the sky, which was now fresh and clean as the rain stopped just for them.

Kendall howled, happily doing a loop-de-loop in the air. He loved the fresh air, the way he was cleansed by the previous rainfall, the dark and clear sky, the wind whipping his feathers and hair, and the way his heart soared high above him. He never realized how much he missed flying and being free.

Carlos was glad to see his brother so happy. They played in the air for a long time, wishing Logan and James were there to share the glory. Then they realized that Logan and James were back in the lab alone and unprotected, so they decided to find their ways back.

* * *

"They're coming," James said, snapping up from his bed and hurrying to the door. "I feel them."

"Me too," Logan said, curiously getting to his toes to see through the glass over James' shoulder. He longed to see Carlos and find out if he was angry or not.

"Do you see them?" James asked, busily changing his angles to look. He was anxious to see Kendall- he missed him a lot- and he wanted to thank Carlos. But he was also nervous to see if they were going to bring Kendall to him in pieces and Carlos in shackles, saying his goodbyes.

"I can hear them," Logan said, almost excitedly. They probably looked like two puppies awaiting their master at the front door.

"Both?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly the guards turned and yelled at them to back away to the other end of the room, and they obeyed, knowing the others would be entering soon. With a beep, the door opened, and their wish was fulfilled.

Kendall entered first, sopping wet but looking clean. He grinned at James as the boy raced across the room to hug him, whirling him in a circle.

"I was so worried," James whispered, hugging him tight.

"Don't you know that you don't have to worry about me? I always find my way back to you," Kendall said sincerely. James backed his head away to pepper Kendall's face with kisses.

Logan leaned back against the wall, staring blankly at the floor, as Carlos entered. GOD he just wanted to hug him and admonish him and kiss him and strangle him and cry, all at the same time. But he remained still.

"Hey, sexy," came a timid voice. "Are you mad?"

Logan's dark eyes lifted to Carlos in the middle of the room, beside Kendall and James' reunion, hands behind his back and head bowed. He was soaked, his long dark hair shagged over his face and coming to a bit of a point in the middle.

"Did you get hurt?" Logan asked quietly.

"No."

Logan smiled a little and started to Carlos.

"Then I'm not mad. I thought YOU would be mad."

"I'M not mad!" Carlos said quickly, looking up worriedly as Logan stopped only inches in front of him. "I was so scared you'd never wanna talk to me again!"

Logan grinned and hugged Carlos.

"My silly baby," he laughed into Carlos' neck as Carlos hungrily hugged back.

* * *

_I want to see the father._

It was something Vincent never expected Jennifer to type into the Google Translate box in the computer room. She looked at him, blue eyes serious.

Vincent shook his head, set on not allowing Jennifer to see him. But then Brooke put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take her. It's important. She may die during birth and maybe she knows that and wants to imagine what her baby will be like," she said gently. Vincent sighed and nodded, Brooke helping Jennifer up and out of the room.

She guided Jennifer to the room that the four boys were in, the reunion having been done and over with for a while. She had to admit, she herself just knew this would be a beautiful baby.

They stopped at the window in front of the door, Jennifer shivering as the guards checked her out with perverted eyes.

Inside, Jennifer watched as a smiling black headed boy with messy hair, who sat on a bed with a blonde boy, smiled and watched two others in the center of the room. His eye caught the two women outside, he did a double-take, and he elbowed the boy beside him. The other boy followed his gaze, then they both followed Brooke's gaze as she pointed a manicured finger into the room.

Brooke pointed out the unknowing father. Jennifer tore her eyes from the boys who stared at her, both could make beautiful babies, considering Jennifer had all recessive traits, and followed the finger's path carefully, but there was only one boy in the track.

There, in the room, play fighting with a taller boy in the middle of the floor, was a bright-eyed, smiling Latino, giggling hysterically.

"Carlos," Brooke said slowly. "That's him."

* * *

**Soak it in…**

**Soaking?**

**Soaked?**

**Okay. I'll give you a sec.**

**Ready?**

**Cool.**

**This was a big chapter- lots of stuff happened. We got a newfound Jagan bromance. Carlos saved Kendall- barely. They were free for a while. They got a plan. Jennifer (YES, blonde Jennifer, I didn't know if you guys caught that) was introduced. I'm sorry I just kinda threw that at you- I wanted layers to this story, and I wanted some unknown and some surprises. We found out the father. Everyone is happy again. So yeah. **

**I asked a lot of people whether the whole bird baby thing was a horrible idea, because I knew it could potentially fuck up the whole story for a lot of people. All but one said to go for it, and you know, I have to do it like nobody's around, so I did it. What do you guys think?**


	10. He Was Already A God Damn Angel

Carlos swung his and Logan's linked hands happily as they and James and Kendall followed Brooke to the room at the end of the hallway- the "Dungeon", as they had started calling it.

"I'm excited. I get a clean Pit in a while," Carlos grinned.

"What? You don't like my ghastly stench and constant grime?" Logan joked. Carlos wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. Meanwhile, behind them, James seethed- on the brink of lunging forward and strangling his mother. For obvious reasons. He hated the woman.

"You have to calm down," Kendall whispered.

"How can I calm down when the woman who birthed and raised me ended up being my worst enemy?" James said loudly. "Fucking bitch."

"I don't wanna HEAR it about evil parents," Kendall hissed. James' mouth formed a line irritably as they entered the room to find four barber's chairs.

"We've decided it's time for a haircut," Brooke said briskly, motioning for the boys to sit. They did, and capes were draped over their shoulders.

Soon a blonde entered, wearing a very thick coat that was open over the front, showing that she was pregnant.

"Boys, this is Jennifer," Brooke said. "She doesn't speak a lick of English."

"Did you hire her to KILL us?" James snapped.

"I did this for YOU, James Dylan!" Brooke hissed. "I knew that you wouldn't want just a buzz cut, so I got a stylist."

"How is she supposed to know what I want?"

"You're getting what you had before. All of you."

"Why's she wearing the coat?" Kendall asked.

"Because she's cold," Brooke said simply. She didn't want to tell them that the coat was to hide her wings- it would just raise questions that Brooke didn't find necessary to answer. Jennifer had begged to be allowed to know what Carlos was like, and that was what showed the scientists all they needed to know about the mother of a bird baby. She knew she would die during childbirth, she wanted to know what her child would be like, and she had a natural attraction to the father of the baby. So Brooke had arranged to let her cut their hair.

"What language DOES she speak?" Logan asked.

"She's Swiss. So whatever language they speak. No more questions."

Soon Brooke was gone and James started ranting on about what a bitch she was, knowing that she was hearing it all on her creepy computers. Jennifer worked on Logan first, who was on the end, and expertly snipped his long black hair out of his eyes, the way it was before they were captured- somewhat long and able to be kept back out of his face. He made frequent glances at the bundle of hands between Logan and the father of her baby.

After that, Logan was to go and shower and shave, so he left.

Carlos was next, and all Jennifer had to do was get the clippers out. She worked slowly, observing the way he interacted with the tall, dark, and handsome boy beside him. She had no idea what they were saying, but Carlos laughed an awful lot and was always fidgeting.

After he was finished, Carlos got up and faced Jennifer.

"I dunno if you know what I'm saying, but thanks!" he said happily. His eye caught the bulge poking out from her coat and immediately his eyes widened and he was on his knees on his chair, touching the warm lump that seemed to grow a month's worth in a day. Jennifer jumped, staring as Carlos pressed his ear to her stomach, laughed, and said something to her in English.

"I love babies. I can't wait till me and Pit get one," Carlos beamed to the others, feeling the child inside the blonde kick his hands.

"Los, you're freaking her out," Kendall laughed. Carlos looked up at Jennifer, blushed, and held his hands up in surrender.

"Guess I should hurry up and maybe I can catch Pit in the shower," Carlos winked to the other boys, scampering away, rubbing his newly fuzzy head.

He had just caught Logan pulling on a shirt when he entered the room with the sink and chemical shower. Logan grinned at him, but before he could comment on the drastic hair change, Carlos was on him.

"Look at you! I forgot how cute you are!" Carlos squealed, rubbing Logan's newly shaven face, tasseled and wet hair, and clean skin. Finally he gasped and stepped away. "No! You can't see me before I'm cute again!"

So Carlos started to the shower, stripping his clothes all the way. Logan was herded back to another lab, where he had a bit of blood taken, his vital signs checked, and was given a bag of food and taken back to his room.

* * *

James had almost decided to keep his goatee, but Kendall begged and pleaded otherwise as James got his hair cut. So he reluctantly shaved, went to the lab, and then back to a room where Carlos and Logan had to stop making out in his presence. Kendall soon came in- his hair very short and pushed back at the top, face clean-shaven, in clean clothes.

"Look at you!" James smiled, kissing Kendall's smooth cheek. "I missed this."

"I can see your eyes," Kendall laughed admiring James.

"Yeah. It's a relief to me, too," James said, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

They all sat in a circle on the cold floor and ate. Kendall ended up giving a lot of his food (just two sandwiches) to James and Carlos, Logan doing the same, since they didn't need to eat as much.

"You know, it's been a good day. I never thought I'd say that here," Carlos said brightly, snuggling into Logan. "I'm clean, I got a haircut, I got to shave, I got to touch a pregnant belly, I got enough to eat, everyone's here and okay, my boyfriend smells nice and is all smooth again, and nothing bad happened."

"True that," James said, fist bumping his friend. They all smiled in agreement- even Logan, who took Carlos under his arm and kissed his fuzzy hair.

"Maybe we're nearing the end. I dunno- I feel SOME kind of end coming on. Maybe they're planning on letting us go, and that's why they cut our hair to be the same," Carlos said.

"Don't get your hopes up," Kendall said worriedly.

"Hope away, honey," Logan whispered deviously. Carlos grinned and turned his head to kiss Logan, which didn't happen a lot lately.

When he pulled away, Carlos had a strange expression on his face.

"I don't feel too good…" he said slowly.

"What's wrong?" Kendall asked.

"I just like… I feel like I need to lay down."

With that, Carlos toppled over gently to lay his head in Logan's lap- Logan stroking his newly shaven head gently.

"I bet it's just cause you haven't eaten so much in a long time," James said.

"Do you feel like you're gonna throw up?" Logan asked.

"No… I'm just like… TIRED. And it's hard to breathe."

"You don't think you got food poisoning?"

"You guys are fine."

"True."

"I'll be fine. Just keep talking," Carlos said reassuringly, gracefully closing his eyes.

"We can call in a medic," Kendall said.

"I'm cool."

In reality, Carlos felt like shit. His heart was beating a million miles a minute, he had a bit of a cold sweat, he was struggling to contain chills, he could hardly breathe, and he was feeling tremendously weak. But if he said any of this, the guys would freak out. Maybe if Carlos gave into the sleep fighting for his consciousness, he would feel better when he woke up.

So he peacefully drifted off to sleep- Logan stroking his soft face and hair absently as he listened to James and Kendall talk.

"You got to fly?" James whined to his boyfriend.

"Yeah. It was amazing- like- my wings were all weak and shit for a second cause I haven't used them in forever. But once I got the hang of it again, it was glorious. I kept wishing you guys were there, too."

"I wish I was there, too!" James said, disappointed.

"Soon enough," Kendall assured.

"Did he seem happy?" Logan asked softly, gesturing to Carlos. "When he flew?"

"He was flying for a while before he even found me, but even when we were together he was so excited."

"Good," Logan smiled a little bit, eyes dropping to the sleeping angel in his lap. He was oddly still, but Logan just guessed that he had fallen asleep.

They talked for a long time, Carlos not tossing or turning once like he usually did when he slept. Finally Logan decided he had to get up and stretch- he was cramping like crazy.

Logan got up and picked Carlos up bridal style- the Latino's head falling back limply, arm hanging, feet dangling. He didn't even move when he was laid on the bed. His head just fell to the side without means of stopping it.

Logan pushed all thoughts out of his head as he stretched his limbs and wings, staring at Carlos.

"Weird that he didn't wake up… He's normally such a light sleeper…" Kendall said, also noticing the absence of motion.

"You don't think there's something wrong…" James asked wearily.

"He's fine," Logan said, rolling his eyes. He knelt beside the bed, poking Carlos' cheek, making his head roll and settle in its place again without even the twitch of an eyelid. "Waaaake uuuup, baby," he whispered, shaking his boyfriend. Everything was limp and easily manipulated.

Suddenly James shoved Logan aside to press his ear to his chest, listening as hard as his human ears would permit. He didn't hear a beat or even breathing. He immediately jumped up, backing away, eyes wide.

"What?" Kendall asked.

"You listen. I can't hear compared to you guys."

So Kendall did the same as James, also hearing nothing. Shocked, he cowered into James, eyes wide, staring at his brother in the bed.

"You guys are fucking idiots," Logan grumbled, hands on his hips. "He's not DEAD."

"Logan… YOU listen," Kendall said lowly.

"No way. We'll just wait for him to wake up," Logan retorted.

"James- do CPR!" Kendall said quickly.

"No! You'll hurt him," Logan growled.

"It's too late anyways," James murmured, not making eye contact with anyone. Kendall hid his face in his mate's shoulder, allowing James to hug him, already silently crying as he absorbed.

But Logan showed no sign of even TRYING to confirm it. He simply gave them a laser stare as he lay down beside Carlos, taking the limp boy in his arms and petting his hair. No, Carlos' wasn't dead. That's IMPOSSIBLE. It wouldn't be so sudden. Maybe they tranquillized him with his food. Either way, he would wake up in Logan's arms.

The sight brought tears to James' eyes. The sight of Logan holding Carlos' corpse- in complete denial- shattered his heart. Like a dog who still nudged his dead friend in hopes that the friend would get up and play. James knew he would do the same if Kendall were to suddenly drop dead.

"He knows," Kendall whispered, voice catching and tears slipping. James shushed him and pressed Kendall's face to his shoulder again- hiding his mate from the scene. "He of all people knows Los is dead and he won't believe it."

It wasn't long before Kendall was clutching at James' shirt and sobbing uncontrollably. His knees gave out and James slowly sank to the floor with him.

"He didn't deserve this," James said shakily as Kendall exhausted himself and resolved to small hiccups and sniffles. "He was the best guy I knew… He didn't deserve this."

Kendall tell out a choked sob, shivering, and James' tear fell to his shoulder.

"We were made to be four. What happens to us now?" James whispered in realization. He looked up to see Logan asleep with Carlos, and knew that Kendall was asleep, too.

Suddenly there was a beep and the door opened. Two men with a stretcher entered, followed by Vincent. Logan sat upright in that second- ready to fight.

"We're here to relieve you of- this," Vincent said in disgust, pointing to Carlos' body.

"He's not DEAD."

James got up and carefully laid Kendall's sleeping body on the bed.

"You guys are medical PROFESSIONALS. You should know that he's not dead. You drugged him or something!"

As soon as one of the guys grabbed Carlos' wrist, Logan was up and snapping the guy's arm over his knee.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Logan screamed as the man wreathed in pain. Logan took that opportunity to grab the guy's gun and point it at his own chin. "If you try to take him, I'll blow my brains out!"

Before James could think, he had the gun in his hand, shoved it in Vincent's hand, and had Logan with his arms bent painfully behind him.

"I'LL SNAP MY OWN ARMS!" Logan yelled, fighting against James and surprisingly losing. Vincent and the other guy picked Carlos up by the armpits and ankles, sending Logan into panic mode.

"HE'S NOT DEAD YOU MOTHER FUCKERS! I KNOW HE ISN'T! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM! PUT HIM BACK!"

James was not struggling to hold Logan back, moving his arms to hold Logan around the chest and stomach.

"I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! YOU MADE ME CAPABLE OF ANYTHING AND SO HELP ME GOD I'LL MAKE YOUR DEATH SLOW AND PAINFUL! PUT HIM BACK! JAMES! LET ME THE FUCK GO!"

Carlos was lifted on the stretcher and Logan wasn't tiring.

"LOS! WAKE THE FUCK UP! HE'S NOT DEAD, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! BRING HIM BACK!"

There was a beep and the door began closing. Logan wrangled himself loose and bolted for the door- reaching it just as it closed. He pounded on the window and looked out to see the stretcher right outside of the door. They were mocking him!

James' mom touched several places with her stethoscope, shaking her head to Vincent, who had a clipboard. The bitch was acting!

Logan watched as Brooke opened Carlos' lid and shone a flashlight into his eye. He watched as the black circle in the center of chocolate didn't move at all.

He clawed and pounded at the window as they took Carlos away- toward the room at the end of the hall- the Dungeon.

"BRING HIM BACK!" Logan screamed. He yelled and pounded and screamed for what seemed like hours. At least long enough for Kendall and James to cry more.

Logan finally backed away, breathing hard, feeling hopeless, and angry. Carlos couldn't be gone. It was just minutes before he went to sleep that he was smiling and happy and kissing Logan. Maybe… Maybe Carlos somehow knew it was coming…

There was no explanation of why his pupils didn't move. Logan knew that when you slept, your pupils contracted when exposed to light. And… And Carlos wasn't breathing… His heart wasn't beating… He wasn't twitching or talking or even humming in his sleep, like he ALWAYS did.

He tried not to think the words.

_My Carlos is dead._

As they crossed his mind, Logan turned to the corner of the room, immediately in tears, sobbing uncontrollably into the concrete wall.

He held Carlos' corpse in his arms. He still FELT like his Carlos. But… But he stood and watched Brooke Diamond pronounce him dead. He saw Carlos' pupils stay stationary. The realization hit him like a Mac truck, and he couldn't handle it.

He felt James' hand on his shoulder after a second.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Logan screeched, falling to the ground and forming a ball- facing the wall- head tucked into his knees.

James, eyes wide, stared at Logan. The boy was sobbing uncontrollably, shaking, crying. Nobody had EVER seen Logan this way.

Kendall had gone to the other corner of the room and sat to cry- also requesting to be left alone, but gently, unlike Logan.

Carlos looked so peaceful there. Somehow he still looked playful and happy in his death. His face was rested on the right cheek, facing James, and his arms and legs were loosely on the bed.

Soon James was in his own corner, numb and dumb, sniffling in pain.

Logan shook in his little ball- sobbing- unable to control him tears, the panicked chokes, the shivering.

"WHY NOT ME?" he screamed into the cavity between his thighs and stomach. "KILL ME!"

Kendall and James heard this, both thinking the exact same thing as Logan. _Why not me? _Anyone but Carlos deserved that fate… Any of them would be happy to take his place.

Kendall believed that he had failed Carlos somehow. Although he didn't know that this would happen, he felt like as a big brother he should have done a better job at protecting Carlos. For that, he wished he had died instead.

James believed that HE should have taken Carlos' place because of what he said to his mother. It may have seemed like a dumb reason to want to die, but he believed that of all the people he was so nice to, his mother shouldn't be the one he hated. Even considering the circumstances.

And of course, Logan was on the verge of forcing James to choke the life out of him. HE should have been poisoned (or at least that's what he assumed happened). Logan was such a mean prick to everyone, not caring about shit, being suck a dick about everything it wasn't even funny. Everyone understood that that's just the way he was, but that was no excuse. Carlos was so nice to everyone, no matter who it was. He didn't deserve this.

Logan was crying in such a panicky way that he couldn't breathe. But he wasn't afraid that he couldn't breathe- he hoped he suffocated. His head pounded, he was exhausted, he was dehydrated, but he didn't care. Let him die.

"Shh- breathe, buddy," James whispered, lightly touching Logan's shoulder and sitting down against the wall in front of Logan, legs spread. Kendall had insisted he be left alone and not disturbed for a long time, and James needed to nurture SOMEONE. He was sad, yes, but somehow he wasn't near as panicked as the others.

To his surprise, Logan didn't yell. He obeyed. He let out a choked sob and then took a deep breath.

"Logan- look at me," James said gently, Logan's dark and tearful eyes rose to James' hazel ones. "He's free."

Logan broke down all over again, burying his face in his knees. James shushed him gently and reached out to pull Logan between his legs and hug him.

"That's what you wanted," James whispered, rubbing Logan's shoulder soothingly.

"He w-was already a God d-damn a-angel," Logan sobbed, shaking violently. "It sh-should have been m-me."

"No way," James said strongly. "Carlos would be absolutely destroyed if this happened to you. He'd have shot himself right then and there when he had the opportunity. There's no doubt in my mind."

"I should have!" Logan said.

"No. You're stronger than that. You're a god damn lethal weapon, Logan."

"He's all I had to live for," Logan sniffled, head coming out from his body to rest on James' shoulder. Somehow James had soothed him a bit.

"I know," James said, pained. "It's not fair on you."

"When I finally go to sleep- I want you to smother me with the pillow," Logan whispered suddenly. James' heart leapt in surprise and horror.

"No."

"Strangle me. Here and now- I know you CAN."

"I'm not gonna KILL you!"

"Beat me."

"No!"

"Snap my wings and smash my head."

"Logan!"

"Have the guards shoot me."

"Logan!" James snapped, turning to Logan in time for Logan to look up. "I'm not gonna kill you."

"I know you can. You're the strongest besides me."

"No."

"PLEASE. They would probably let you and Kendall go, cause I'm the one they want."

"That's not true."

"James. PLEASE. Set ME free."

James shook his head stubbornly, and he watched as the last of the fire behind Logan's black eyes doused out and Logan died internally. He was no longer Logan- tough as nails, badass, dark and mysterious. He was the shell of that guy.

Logan's lip quivered and his black eyes filled with tears. James sighed and pulled his head back to his shoulder, cheek on Logan's newly cut hair, as Logan let it out again.

* * *

Carlos' body wasn't taken to an incinerator or a lab table to be inspected or even back to the surface to be buried.

No, he was taken to a room with a blacked out window and pillows, blankets, old clothes, and mattresses littering the floor and dumped onto a bed.

It wasn't for another three hours that his heart started bumping again. That his lungs started working stronger. That dreams started playing behind his lids.


	11. I'm Alive!

**Guys, nobody's forcing you to read. I'm trying really hard to keep this exciting and surprising, but if you think it's "getting old", then whatever. Stop reading if you hate it so much. I happen to love it.**

* * *

Logan woke up crying.

He was alone, curled up in the cold concrete corner, feeling numb and exhausted- not even feeling the pain behind his tears anymore.

He sniffled and rolled over, seeing Kendall and James in the opposite corner. Kendall was curled up between James' legs, James hugging him and murmuring quietly in his ear. Kendall looked Logan serenely in the eyes, also looking too numb to feel the hurt. James followed his gaze to Logan.

"Morning. There's food over there," James said softly, nodding to a paper bag of a bit of food beside the door. He always said "morning" when someone awoke, but their sleeping schedules had shifted a lot by now- so much so that they slept mostly during the day and were awake at night.

Logan shook his head, feeling like he was underwater or in a slow dream or something.

James smiled sadly and turned his face back toward Kendall's shoulder, starting to talk again as Logan rolled back over to mope.

"At least he's not in this hellhole anymore. Honestly, I think I'd rather die than spend too much more time here," James said.

"Don't say that," Kendall pleaded.

"I dunno why I'm not as sad as you and Logan. Carlos was an awesome friend… I SHOULD be upset."

"You're still absorbing, I think."

"Maybe."

Kendall sighed miserably and laid his head back on James' shoulder, forehead against his jaw and neck.

"It's not the same without him here to be cute and positive," he said quietly. "It's like there's no happiness left, you know? It's all darkness."

"I know."

"I was his brother and somehow… I feel like I failed him," Kendall said, voice cracking. James squeezed his boyfriend tighter, kissing his forehead.

"What were you supposed to do?" James whispered soothingly. "Smell the poison? Taste-test all his food before he ate it? There's no way you could have protected him."

"He looked to me and you and Logan to keep him safe, and we ALL failed him. But mostly me."

"Shh," James shushed, rocking Kendall. "If he could hear you talking this way right now, he'd be pissed. You know he wouldn't want anyone to blame themselves."

"He was such a good guy," Kendall said weakly with a sniffle.

Logan listened to all this, Kendall's words only making him cry harder. He was right. Carlos unconsciously looked to the others to protect him, but Kendall was wrong about who he especially counted on. It wasn't Carlos' protective older brother figure. It was his strong, powerful, invincible lethal weapon boyfriend.

Logan should have been more careful. He should have known that something like this would happen.

* * *

Carlos woke up feeling like he was hung over. His throat and tongue was dry, his head pounded, he was starving, and it hurt to move.

The first thing he noticed when he sat up was all the pillows, blankets, and mattresses scattered over the floor. Then he noticed the blonde girl curled up in the corner, sitting on a mattress, wrapped in a heavy old blanket. Her ice blue eyes turned to him and he immediately recognized her as the woman who cut his hair- Jennifer.

She pointed a long finger to something beside the door then her eyes turned back to him. Carlos followed her finger to a bottle of water, and he got up, pain shooting through him, and picked it up.

As he gulped the water, he eyed the girl. She looked more pregnant than yesterday- she looked about ready to pop. She had her delicate hands on her stomach as she watched him. He then realized that she had big wings of light-grey with specks of white.

"I'm Carlos," he said, pointing to himself. "CAR-LOS."

"Hanneli," she said quietly.

"That's you?" he asked, pointing to her. She nodded, pointing to her chest.

"Hanneli," she nodded.

"I'll call you Jennifer- that's what I thought your name was."

Carlos sat on the bed and stared at her as she began speaking in another language that seemed like French maybe. She seemed to notice his absence of knowledge of her words and stopped.

She sighed and got up with some difficulty- standing before him and taking his hands to touch her stomach.

"Annik," she said. Carlos shrugged, feeling helpless, having no idea what she was saying. Jennifer sighed and pointed to her stomach, then at Carlos, then at herself. Carlos shrugged again, not understanding that Jennifer was trying to tell him that he was the father of the child.

"She… is… Annik Rosa," she said slowly.

"OOOH- that's the baby's name," Carlos said in realization. Jennifer nodded, unsure if he got it or not, but he obviously came to SOME consensus. "That's pretty."

Jennifer nodded, unsure, and went back to her corner. She began picking up pillows and blankets, piling them in the corner.

"No, no, stop! You shouldn't be doing that- too much bending," Carlos said, taking a big pillow from her. He knew that pregnant women shouldn't do much of anything physical, and he didn't want anything to happen to her baby. She looked at him, confused, and he turned to her little pile. "What're you DOING?"

Jennifer touched her stomach. She didn't know WHAT she was doing, but something told her that the baby was coming and she had to make a comfy spot, either for her or the baby.

Carlos looked at her bulging tummy, and it clicked. She was building a nest. He sighed, tossing the pillow onto the pile and making his way to the other corner to pick up blankets and hand them to her. Her face brightened as she took it and constructed her comfy space, the cycle continuing.

When the pile was finished, Jennifer sat against the wall and nestled in. Carlos wished he had a way to talk to her- he wondered if he should get Vincent in here and if she was about to have the baby.

He sat beside her and also nestled in. Jennifer was whispering to her stomach, rubbing it like a fortune teller's ball.

"Annik," she repeated to Carlos. "Annik Rosa."

"Annik," Carlos nodded, pointing to her stomach to confirm. She smiled and nodded. She had to make sure Carlos knew what she wanted the child's name to be, so when she died he could make sure that's what she was called. She was sure she would die- nobody else in the world had given birth to a bird baby, and there was no chance she would live.

She decided on the name, Annik, because it meant 'graceful' in Switzerland. She knew this baby would be an angel. The middle name, Rosa, was just because it was pretty.

Suddenly there was a beep and Brooke Diamond entered.

"Carlos, you and Jennifer come with me."

Carlos asked, staying where he was in the nest. She took a few pictures of them in the nest before putting the camera away.

"Come on," Brooke said impatiently.

"Where're Logan and Kendall and James?"

"Come ON."

"What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain it all there. Let's GO."

Carlos got to his feet and reached out a hand for Jennifer. Come to think of it- why was he here with her? Jennifer looked confused but somehow trusting as she allowed herself to be hoisted up and lead out of the room.

* * *

Logan had resorted to pacing around the room, trying to stop thinking about Carlos. It was all he was able to think about and he was numb.

James watched him, Kendall curled up in his lap asleep. Logan paced slowly, looking miserable, hands hooked on his shoulders so his elbows hung against his body.

He was whispering something, but James couldn't hear what. His lips moved silently eyes intent on the ground, breathing slow and calm.

"Please, God, I know I don't deserve to be listened to. And if you're out there and you love mutants as much as Los always said you did, then maybe you'll at least hear me. Make sure my Los gets up there safely and doesn't have any problems. Make sure he's happy up there- as happy as he CAN be. Maybe reunite him with his family if they're dead- maybe he'd like that, maybe not. Tell him that I miss him and that I'll be there soon. Unless I'm going to Hell, which is probable, in which case don't tell him anything. I'll find a way to die soon, God, and if that's a sin, I don't give a shit. After I'm gone, please make sure James and Kendall make it out of here alive and kill every single scientist bastard in on this. I know Los would want that, too. Help Kendall heal- I know he's hurting a lot, too. I know I'm asking for a lot, but keep in mind that I've never talked to you before, God, and have never asked for anything from you. And I'm not entirely sure I believe you're up there, but just in case, I'm praying. So… Amen? In Jesus name? You get the point. Thanks."

Now the next step was finding a quick way to die.

He searched the room for anything sharp or spear-like. The beds were bolted down, pillows and mattresses too airy to suffocate anyone, the lights were sturdy on the ceiling, long bulbs completely inaccessible. The only thing in the room capable of killing Logan was James' bare hands. Maybe James could strangle him. Or tear his heart out. Maybe James could bash his head into the concrete floor. It was too bad that James was a softie and refused to kill Logan… It was a waste of such powerful strength if you asked Logan.

He had it. Next time someone came in, Logan would beat them up and take their gun and blow his brains out. It was intense and fast.

James had a pretty good idea about Logan's process of grieving. First was denial- Logan refused to believe that Carlos was dead, although he of all people knew. Second was anger- he had yelled and screamed for them to bring Carlos back. Next was panic- Logan cried for a long time- unable to breathe or talk. Then was numbness- Logan hadn't cried for a while and just stared at everything like a doll. And now was calm- Logan was walking very slowly and calmly, talking to himself, completely emotionless. James wondered what was next- maybe the cycle would continue. It seemed like an awfully fast one.

Kendall had woken up and nestled a little bit more into James, eyes still closed, thinking.

Thinking about his deceased brother. He remembered when they first met in the lab that Kendall had lived in since he was a child. Kendall had immediately taken Carlos under his wing- literally- and Carlos looked up to him for guidance. Then they met James and Logan and Carlos was better protected by Logan, and Kendall was okay with that. Carlos still looked at Kendall like a brother, and the other way around. And Kendall, of all people, knew that his brother was the last person to deserve his fate.

And now he was thinking about James, who was kissing his forehead and rubbing his arm soothingly. He opened his eyes to smile a little at James, showing that he was doing a little better, and James kissed his nose. Kendall laid his head on James' shoulder and looked at Logan pacing around. Logan had lost it. Well, he lost it a long time ago, but this whole situation made it all worse. Kendall knew he would be the same way if James suddenly dropped dead.

Kendall loved how strong James was being. He knew that Carlos and James were pretty good friends and that James should be sadder than he was- and maybe he was destroyed inside and Kendall would never know. He loved that James was a rock, knowing that when nobody else was, James had to keep strong and hold everyone else up. Nobody knew exactly what happened to Carlos, but James was the one who had the logical mind to suggest that the scientists poisoned his food.

* * *

Jennifer was laid in a chair in the room at the end of the hall, the lights turned out and the room completely dark save the glow from the ultrasound machine.

"She built a nest. I think she's ready," Brooke said quietly to Vincent.

Vincent observed the ultrasound and Carlos looked in amazement. It was an extremely high-tech machine, showing a vivid image of the child inside.

It was about the size of a newborn now, maybe a bit bigger. It was curled up in a ball and had little wings with a strange texture… Feathers? The baby already had feathers?

"You owe me an explanation," Carlos said to Brooke, still staring at the image.

"What do you want to know?"

"Where are the others?"

"Right where you left them, grieving over your death."

"My DEATH?"

"We drugged your food, honey. Made your heart stop and everything- took you away. Your little boyfriend is going absolutely insane. Your 'brother' is, too- destroyed. But my Jamie is the rock- always was. I think somehow he knows you're not dead," Brooke said thoughtfully.

"But I'm NOT dead. You have to tell them!"

"We want to see if Logan finds a way to kill himself," Brooke shrugged.

"NO!" The outburst made Jennifer jump, the ultrasound messing up, and stare at him. "You have to TELL him I'm not dead! He'll do it, Brooke! There's no question!"

"I guess we'll see."

With that, Carlos whirled around and sprinted to find the door. Vincent and Brooke stood back, watching.

"WHERE'S THE GOD DAMN DOOR?" Carlos screamed, feeling around in the darkness. Jennifer watched in horror, feeling Annik kick against her skin.

The lights flicked on and Carlos found the door. He pulled the latch and the door open, hearing a "SHOOP!" sound and a sting in his shoulder. He felt drowsy, but he kept sprinting.

"I'M ALIVE!" he screamed, running and looking in all the door windows. "I'M ALIIIIIVE!"

Suddenly his vision tunneled and the ground rushed to meet his face, everything going black, a tranquillizer dart sticking out in his shoulder. Guards dragged him back to his room of pillows.

* * *

Logan looked up at the door, hearing a familiar voice.

"I'M ALIVE!"

It was Carlos' voice.

"SHUT UP!" Logan suddenly screamed, doubling over and clutching his head, sure it was some mind trick. "Shut up, shut up, shut UP!"

James' eyes widened in confusion.

"I'M ALIIIIVE!"

"SHUT UP!" Logan had tears streaming down his face. James had no idea what to do, but Kendall was already up.

"Logan-" Kendall said, pulling Logan back to stand straight. Logan went limp, Kendall lowering him gently to the ground. "Logan- I heard it, too. They're torturing us. Don't give in."

"It sounded so much like him!" Logan yelled, eyes closed, streaming tears.

"I know. It's just a sick joke."

"Kendall- save me."

Logan looked up at Kendall, black eyes completely shattered and helpless.

"Kill me. Somehow. PLEASE."

Kendall shook his head painfully and hugged the smaller boy to him. When he looked back to where James was, James was fast asleep on the cold ground, drool pooling below his mouth. So Kendall was alone to hold Logan and wait for him to cry himself to sleep. He had never- NEVER thought in a million years that he would be in this position of holding Logan as he cried.

* * *

Jennifer breathed in the anesthetics knowing that she wouldn't be waking up. Although she wished she would be able to see her baby just once, she knew that the child would have dark skin, dark eyes, white feathers, and a smile to kill.

The world's colors mixed and Jennifer's ice blue eyes crossed as they closed for good.

Vincent made the incision in Jennifer's fair white skin. Blood oozed behind the scalpel from the deep cut, only making Vincent more excited to get this thing out.

It didn't take long for him to reach in greedily and pick the bloody mass of baby and feathers from the sliced-open placenta. Jennifer was dying, but they didn't care about that. Her uterus would be destroyed after this- unable to bare more bird children. There was no life support keeping her alive and nobody bid her farewell as her heart beat its last time.

Immediately the tiny baby was wiped off and put on an examination table. The child breathed easily and wriggled about, letting out high-pitched screams.

"Female," Vincent observed as Brooke wrote. "She came in no egg at all. Wings with pre-developed feathers- they look white at the moment. Skin very dark, hair black. It seems that her appendages work nicely. Cries naturally."

Vincent manually spread one of the tiny wings, showing that they were simply miniatures of the wings her parents had. They were powder-white and very warm, and the child jerked it back to herself.

He opened her lids, expecting black eyes like her fathers. Instead there were impossibly blue ones- almost white- that stared blankly at nothing as the baby moved.

"She's blind," Brooke whispered, astonished.

They washed the baby and dried her thoroughly.

"I suppose we should let Carlos see her before we put her down," Vincent said, cradling the baby carelessly in his arm.

"Put her DOWN?"

"She's flawed, Brooke. Blind. We can't introduce THIS to the world as the first."

"How else are we going to make another one? Jennifer was the only girl!"

"We'll change more girls! We aren't restricted, Brooke. But this one is a failure."

Brooke looked at the baby screaming in her partner's arm. Despite being pure evil, Brooke had still given birth and raised a child of her own, and she hated to hear that Vincent would be killing this beautiful baby just because she was blind.

"Get Joanna in here to take her. We've got other things to do," Vincent said dismissively, putting the child in Brooke's arms.

* * *

Joanna looked down lovingly at the little tan baby in only a diaper, who was screaming in her arms. She knew a newborn should be wrapped in a blanket for warmth, but it wasn't up to her.

"Shh- it's okay, baby girl. You'll be with your daddy here really soon," Joanna whispered. She was so excited to be holding her one and only granddaughter- and she was so beautiful. Joanna couldn't let this child be "put down" like a dog. Sure- the baby wasn't really her granddaughter. But since her son was Carlos' mate, he would be helping raise the child- IF she made it past today. Speaking of Logan- she had to be careful. If he saw her here, he'd never let her near the baby.

* * *

Carlos woke to the familiar beeping followed by the door shifting open. He sat up sleepily, squinting against his drowsiness- his previous outburst forgotten.

There was a woman there with a baby, smiling down at him as he sat up and swung his feet over the bed to stand.

"Who're YOU?" he asked. He had never seen this woman before, but she looked strangely familiar.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" the woman asked happily. Carlos' brows furrowed as he looked at the baby in her arms, which was screaming. She DID sort of look like Carlos a little in the skin and hair, but that's all he could tell.

"Um- yeah. Last I checked, I didn't do anything with any girls in the past nine months," Carlos retorted.

The woman put the baby in his arms before he even answered her question, and to both their surprises, she stopped screaming.

"This is Jennifer's baby?" Carlos asked. He couldn't help but smile at the baby- so small and cute- like a tiny angel with tiny angel wings.

"Yes. Beautiful, isn't she?"

"How's Jennifer?" Carlos asked. The woman went silent, looking away. Carlos nodded in acceptance that Jennifer was gone forever.

"Carlos, this is your daughter," the woman tried again.

"Look, lady. I'm TELLING you. I haven't had sex with a girl EVER. She's not my baby," Carlos insisted.

"This is a laboratory, son. They have WAYS. I assure you- she is the spawn of you and Jennifer."

Carlos looked at her accusingly before looking down at the baby. Sure- she had his tan skin and his black hair. She had his nose- well, maybe not. All babies have that nose. She had his wings and his facial structure…

"No way," he said angrily.

"I'll leave you alone. You don't have much time," the woman said sadly. Something in the woman's face was overwhelmingly familiar… She looked like SOMEONE.

"You look a lot like my boyfriend," he said in wonderment.

"Do I? Strange," the woman said, eyes wide.

"Hey- I bet you have access to him. Will you… Will you tell him I'm not dead? I bet he's destroyed."

The woman fell silent. Joanna knew that she couldn't tell this to Logan- then Logan would know she was there!

"I'll try," she answered before quickly leaving.

Carlos looked down at the baby, sitting down gently. It was hard to even imagine if this baby was his. There was no way. But the woman was right- he was sure there were ways.

The baby was snuggled close to him, sleeping peacefully now. Why did they not have her swaddled in a blanket? This made Carlos a bit angry and he turned to find a blanket to wrap the baby in.

* * *

Logan had finally fallen asleep for more than an hour when he was woken up by Kendall shaking him.

"Fuck off," Logan grumbled, rolling over and away from Kendall.

"They want you," Kendall said.

"Tell THEM to fuck off."

"C'mon. Up and at em. You need outta here," James said, and Logan didn't understand why James was picking him up off the bed and setting him on his feet. "You'll feel better after a walk."

"Maybe I'll die while I'm out there."

"OR maybe not," James said, turning Logan toward the open door. Logan gave him a dirty look before following Brooke out.

"Will you like- give me a lethal injection or something?" Logan asked, following her down the hallway.

"If you still want one after you go in this room, I'll give you one," Brooke said as she stopped in front of a door with a blacked out window. Logan rolled his eyes and there was a beep as the door opened slowly.

"LOGIE!"

It was a chillingly familiar squeal, and immediately he was bombarded with familiar arms. The door was closed.

"Carlos," he whispered, breath catching, as he clutched at his Latino with such intensity he might have broken him. "Oh God- I thought you were dead."


	12. When Instinct Takes Over

**Dear A Certain Person Who Seems To Like Ruining My Life: I don't know why you give me such trouble all the time, and I hate to call you out, but you obviously didn't get the hint to stop telling me I suck. I've told you time after time that if you don't like what I write, then stop reading. OBVIOUSLY you see something in my writing that keeps you reading, which is cool. And I'm not gonna just "give my readers what they want". I'm not gonna change the whole plot plan just because YOU don't like it. I love it, everyone else loves it, and if they don't they keep their mouths closed and just walk away. You have the right to criticize me all you want, and I can't do anything, but just know that I don't and my followers don't appreciate it. And I hope you're happy, by the way.**

**To everyone else, thank you so much for your support. I love that even though I make things happen that you don't like and that things get brutal and weird, you still tell me you love it. :D I love it, too, and if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be on this website, discovering my passion for writing. So thank you. Even if it IS a worthless waste-of-time fanfic that doesn't benefit me at all, I still do it because you guys like to read it and support me. At the end of a long day of school and tests and band, I come home and write and post and stuff, and it makes me happy. I love to read your reviews, and every once in a while there's a negative one, but I love when you guys put goofy stuff on there and suggest things and tell me when you're confused about something so I can fix it.**

**If you're still reading, thanks. I haven't had a long author's note in a while, but sometimes I need to thank you guys and rant for a while.**

**This chapter is up so soon in honor of Theweirdblond's 20****th**** birthmas! Yaaay! Everyone spam her. The codeword is ELEVATOR MOUTH. That's all.**

* * *

_"Interesting. By eliminating the glue that holds the boys together, you cause extreme mental breakdowns," Vincent observed as he and Brooke looked at the rewound video tape. They watched them all cry, Logan throw fits, James comforting them all, Logan pacing and talking to himself, and the breakdown in the end, when Logan even allowed Kendall to hold him._

_"It was a cruel experiment," Joanna said coldly from behind, watching the screen._

_"It was completely necessary and you know it," Brooke spat. She didn't like this new scientist lady- rebelling against everything Vincent said. Joanna was just lucky she was smart, or else she would be out of here._

_"She's right. We had to observe the way they reacted when they thought the center of their gravity was dead," Vincent said matter-of-factly._

_"She's just mad that her little son had his heart broken," Brooke spat._

_"Well I'm sorry I still LOVE him," Joanna shot back._

_"I still love MY son," Brooke said, seeming hurt. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good."_

_"She's right, Joanna. Personally, I don't give two shits about my boy, but she's right."_

_Joanna sighed and moved to another monitor, hoping to see something much happier. The camera was in Carlos' pillow-room, showing the happy reunion between Carlos and his mate, the baby wrapped in a blanket and laying peacefully in the nest. Joanna wondered what would happen in only a few minutes, when the baby was taken away._

* * *

"I can't even tell you how bad it's been back in our room for the past few days. We all thought you were dead. Baby, I watched them check your vital signs. I didn't want to accept it, but I had to. I broke down," Logan said softly. Carlos pulled his head away from Logan's shoulder to give his mate a pitiful look. "Kendall was pretty bad, too, but I dunno why James was so calm."

"You guys should have known that I wouldn't go without saying goodbye," Carlos said seriously.

"It was such a surprise-"

"I don't even remember what happened."

"You got done eating, then you got all weird and you laid your head in my lap. I guessed you went to sleep and took you to the bed. And that's where Kendall and James discovered you were dead, but I wouldn't accept it. They came and took your body and I almost killed them. James had to hold me back as they took you."

Carlos gave a sad smile and Logan planted a gentle kiss on his nose.

"I'm just glad you're alive," Logan said softly. Carlos smiled dreamily as his lips were kissed. He hadn't realized how much he missed Logan until he was kissed that way.

Soon enough, the kiss had heated up. Logan's freezing cold hands had slid beneath Carlos' shorts to touch his warm skin, Carlos' own hands up Logan's shirt. Something in Carlos' brain had told him to not let it get too far, but he couldn't but his finger on what it was until a cry broke through the silence.

"What the hell is that?" Logan asked monotonously, pulling away, dark eyes searching around behind Carlos, not seeing anything that could have made the sound. It sounded like a baby…

"Oh!" Carlos said excitedly, whirled around and lacing his fingers loosely with Logan's to pull him to the nest.

He left Logan standing there as Carlos got to his knees and picked the screaming baby up. Almost immediately she stopped crying and cooed a bit.

Logan watched in amazement as Carlos got to his feet, grinning down at the baby.

"What. The. Fuck," Logan asked.

"Shh! Logan! Young ears in the room!" Carlos scowled, but grinned immediately afterward.

"That's a BABY," Logan retorted as Carlos showed the child to Logan. Logan felt a tiny bit of pull to the baby, similar to what he felt for Carlos.

"Yeah."

"She's your baby."

Carlos whirled around accusingly.

"Is NOT. I haven't had sex with anyone but YOU."

"Los… I can feel you in her. I can't explain it- she just IS your baby."

Carlos was silent, looking afraid.

"What's her name?" Logan asked gently, looking down at the tan and swollen face, the black and thin hair, the cute pink lips.

"Her mother already named her. Annik Rosa."

"Annik?" Logan asked, confused. "What kinda name is that?"

"The mother is the chick who cut our hair. She was a Swiss bird girl , so she picked a Swiss name. She died when she was giving birth, I guess, and I wanna honor her by keeping the name. I think it's pretty."

"It is," Logan said skeptically. "Just different is all."

"We can call her Annie," Carlos said cutely. "Annik Rosa Mitchell."

"Mitchell?"

"After you. I don't have a last name, and you're her other daddy," Carlos reminded. He really didn't have a last name, since he was from an orphanage.

Logan had to smile a little and hug his boyfriend from behind.

They both looked down at Carlos' daughter. To their surprise, her eyes were open and staring at something behind him with an unwavering gaze.

Her eyes… They weren't chocolate brown like genetics would suggest. No, they were light blue. Not like Jennifer's, with specks of darker blue and a bit of clarity. They were a somewhat solid and milky shade, a creepy shade.

"What's wrong with her?" Carlos asked in horror.

"It looks like she's blind," Logan said.

"Do you think they know that?" Carlos asked, afraid. He knew that if the scientists knew that she was blind, they might… Might…

"Probably."

"You don't think they'll try to… 'Put her to sleep'?"

"She's not a DOG, baby."

Carlos nodded, reassured.

"You're right," he said.

"Does she have… Wings?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. She's a little angel," Carlos said excitedly. He carefully peeled back the blanket just enough to show the bright white feathers on the top of her right wing.

"Just like her daddy," Logan smiled, kissing Carlos' ear.

They turned their attention back to Annik, and Logan dragged his thumb over her smooth cheek. She stirred a little bit, eyes closing at the touch.

"Hey, Angel," Logan said quietly. The child pursed her lips before opening them and letting out a slow and velvety coo, which was more of a rumbling and vibrating of her tiny throat. She sounded a lot like a little owl.

Carlos grinned and imitated the sound, making the child cock her head little head curiously.

"She hoots," Logan giggled. "And so do you."

* * *

_"A communication system," Vincent observed. He and Brooke had joined Joanna at the screen showing Logan, Carlos, and the baby._

_"It's not uncommon in the natural world for the mother of the baby birds to have a special sound for their offspring," Brooke said._

_"But Carlos isn't the mother," Vincent said doubtfully._

_"The child has never known her mother's touch. Carlos IS her mother right now," Brooke said._

_"Do you think that Logan will do that, too?" Joanna asked anxiously._

_"Probably not. But perhaps," Brooke said._

_"Guess we'll never find out," Vincent said indifferently, getting up and making for the door. "It's time."_

_"No! Please, Vincent! Just because she's imperfect in YOUR eyes doesn't mean she's not absolutely perfect in Carlos'! She' s crucial in your studies! You saw it yourself- she and Carlos have already bonded for life! They have already given you life-changing exhibits!"_

_"It doesn't matter," Vincent said sternly, shoving her away and going out the door, Brooke on his tail._

* * *

Logan and Carlos sat on the bed against the wall now, Annik in Logan's arms, Carlos' head on his shoulder. They were both extremely tired, but Annik was making all sorts of noises now. Carlos and Logan liked to imitate her and observe the way she reacted with interest. She was already impossibly intelligent.

There was a beep and the door opened. They hoped they were bringing food for them and the baby.

Two burly men entered, Brooke between them, as the door closed again.

"Time to say goodbye, I'm afraid," Brooke said casually. "Give me the child."

"What?" Carlos retorted, eyes wide.

"Silly boy. She's imperfect. We can't have such an abomination break out to the public," Brooke said, as if it were a no-brainer.

Carlos was to his feet, nose only centimeters from Brooke's.

"Los-" Logan said from behind him, still on the bed, eyes wide. He didn't want Carlos to get hurt either by Brooke or her goons.

"Protect her," Carlos said, eyes still on Brooke.

"You won't win this," Brooke said simply. "I've been trained in military fighting."

"What do you think you're gonna do to her?"

"Make sure she never sees the light of day," Brooke shrugged. Somehow Vincent had convinced her that it was the right thing to do.

"How?"

"By killing her."

But Carlos' hand was already around Brooke's throat, swinging the woman to the concrete floor and cracking her head. Brooke let out a surprised yell, hands calmly on Carlos'. She wasn't afraid. Carlos was surprised that she wasn't, and knew that she was tough and would put up a good fight.

"You're not taking her," Carlos growled, a foot planting itself on Brooke's stomach. He let go of the woman's throat and pushed on her stomach with his foot, sending Brooke easily skidding across the floor.

He turned to see a goon going for Brooke, another for Annik. Logan was curled up on the bed in a defensive ball around Annik, who was crying now.

"Shh- it's okay, angel," Logan shushed, trying not to sound panicked as he watched his boyfriend tackle the goon that was coming for them.

Carlos had clawed and kicked his way to the big man's shoulders, both hands around his throat, a bare foot on his shoulder, another on his back.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" Carlos screeched. He had no idea where this strength and courage was coming from. He just had to protect Annik. If they got to her… They'd kill her. And although he barely knew her and hardly understood that she was his child, he was unbelievably protective of the baby who wasn't even two hours old.

Annik was screaming, encased in Logan. The shouting was making her upset, and so did the absence of the somehow familiar Carlos.

"Ah! Get offa me, fucking prick!" The goon yelled, prying at Carlos' hands, which weren't even working to strangle him yet. The man whirled around, trying to get the boy from him.

Carlos jerked his hands, closing the windpipe. He spread his great wings and beat down with all his mite, which was too much force for the man. They both tumbled to the ground, the man on his stomach.

"Hey!" The other goon yelled, easily picking Carlos up off of the other man.

"Let go of me!" Carlos screamed, whirling around to punch the off-guard man in the stomach. It didn't affect the man much, but hurt him just enough to show that Carlos was stronger than he let on.

"Carlos! Let ME handle this!" Logan called in a panic. Carlos must be getting tired soon, and although the first goon showed no sign of getting up (he must have broken his knee in Carlos' attack and passed out), there was still Brooke and the other goon.

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" Carlos screamed, eyes fiery on Logan. The second goon took the opportunity to clip the bird boy in the side of the head, sending Carlos staggering. The goon swiftly made to smash Logan's head into the wall behind him, but suddenly a shin came in contact with his kneecap with bone-crushing force.

"AH!" The man grunted, staggering a little. Carlos didn't even rub his shin, which might or might not be shattered, before he forced his knee into the man's face. "FUCKING SHITFACE!" The man screamed, falling to the bed, holding his knee and face. Logan, eyes wide, jumped up, holding the baby to his chest.

As Logan's and Carlos' attention was on the man on the bed, Brooke snatched Annik from Logan's arms.

"NO!" Logan squeaked frantically. Carlos' head snapped his way, and his pupils must have taken up the entire circumference of his chocolate eyes.

"PUT HER DOWN!" Carlos yelled. It was all he could do- he couldn't hurt Brooke without risking her dropping Annik. He didn't really WANT to hurt Brooke- she wasn't so bad.

Logan had to come up with a plan. Carlos was without any way of saving Annik, and the attention wasn't on Logan at all. Annik was carelessly cradled in just one of Brooke's lab-coat-sheathed arms- very easily droppable, and she was screaming- tiny worm-like tongue waving in her toothless mouth.

"Shut UP! Both of you!" Brooke screeched. Logan's anger got the best of him and he swiftly swept a kick at the backs of Brooke's knees. Brooke caught herself before she fell, but it gave Carlos the perfect chance to snatch Annik.

"It's okay, baby. Daddy's here. I've got you. You're safe," Carlos whispered, clutching the bundle to his chest, the child stopping screaming.

Logan hooked his hand around Brooke's throat and trudged her roughly to the corner of the concrete walls. The woman's healed feet were inches above the ground, unable to breathe as Logan pressed on her windpipe.

"Time to say goodbye, I'm afraid," Logan growled, black eyes all pupils now. Brooke's own hazel and makeup rimmed eyes were panicked on Logan's as she clutched at the boy's hand, choking for air that wouldn't come.

Carlos watched in half-horror, the baby clutched silently to him. Was Logan gonna go so far as to KILL Brooke? They both knew that Brooke wasn't the bad guy… She was the puppet, Vincent the puppeteer.

"Logan-" Carlos said quietly over Brooke's choking. Logan just kept his stony stare on Brooke, jaw clenched, black eyes unwavering. "She's dying…"

But Logan's didn't look at his boyfriend. Instead, he preferred to watch Brooke's eyes begin to fade, her fighting weaken, and her legs stop kicking.

"I hope your precious LEADER is watching you die right now, you twisted bitch," Logan growled. Brooke's eyes, heavy with makeup fluttered a little bit, struggled to stay open, squeezed shut, then relaxed.

Logan let go of her bruising neck, the limp and petite body falling to the floor with a muffled thump.

"Logan… She's dead," Carlos whispered. He wasn't horrified, wasn't relieved. Just shocked.

"YOU'RE NEXT, YOU BASTARD!" Logan yelled to the cameras.

* * *

_Both Vincent and Joanna were pale._

_Vincent because Logan had killed his partner. Not that Brooke was all the important to him, but she was somewhat useful. Actually, he had sent her in there because he knew they would put up a good fight._

_Joanna was pale because she had just witnessed her son murder someone. She knew he was dark and dangerous, but mother of GOD- he killed her with his bare hands without even hesitating! Sure- Brooke was a bitch. And sure- Logan was acting on instinct to protect the baby. But it still shocked her to watch it._

_"He killed her," Vincent said in wonder. "If only he weren't sterile. He was my first choice for a sperm donor- I bet the child would be even more powerful than he is."_

_"I guess that just goes to show that you shouldn't take the child from them," Joanna said strongly. "They beat two of your guards to where they're struggling to get out the door."_

_It was true- the two goons were crawling to the door now, afraid for their lives although Logan and Carlos were busy with Annik._

_"I think it just goes to show that Brooke was too weak and that I need stronger guards," Vincent mocked simply._

_"She was your partner. You feel nothing?"_

_"Joanna. I hollowed out my own son's bones with my bare hands. I gave him wings and kept him in a lab since he was four. I captured him yet again and love to watch him wiggle under my thumb. If you haven't noticed, I don't have a heart," Vincent said simply._

_Joanna crossed her arms, obviously upset._

_"If you can't take it, you should leave," Vincent said._

_"When will you introduce the baby to Kendall and James?"_

_"Never. I'm not giving up, Joanna. The child WILL die."_

_"I think it's crucial to allow the others to see her. Observe how they react. They aren't a parent and aren't a guardian."_

_"The more freaks there are in the room, the harder it'll be to take the child," Vincent said coldly. "James is very strong- almost as strong as Logan. He acts on instinct, and he'll kill everyone who even tries to get to the child."_

_"So remove him before you try," Joanna argued. Vincent fell silent._

_"Fine," Vincent gave in. "Tomorrow. Tonight I want to see how the two handle the night."_

_"They've already started," Joanna said frankly, pointing to the screen behind Vincent._

* * *

"You're exhausted," Logan said lightly, seeing the bags beneath Carlos' eyes as he tucked a makeshift diaper made of an old shirt around Annik.

"Yeah. I've never kicked ass before," Carlos nodded.

"Here- I'll wrap her up and you can go make somewhere for her to sleep," Logan said quietly.

"I'll never get tired of being in love with you," Carlos said, in a sleepy dreaminess, as he moved away.

As Logan swaddled the baby, he observed her. She was very small, very light, very fragile, and very warm. Her little pink lips smacked sleepily, that familiar baby-overbite making her upper lip cover her bottom lip and come to a point in the middle. Logan wondered how she was so perfect. She was the only bird baby in existence with a hybrid mother and father. It seemed impossible that the child came out so healthy on the first try- well, besides her eyes.

Logan himself was born a normal baby before he started sprouting his wings only days afterward. He imagined he couldn't have been this cute, though, although his mother said that he was adorable. This was the first time since… since when? that he thought about his mom. He missed her. He couldn't care less about his old man, but his mom he missed. He hoped she didn't panic too badly when he went missing. He had left a note, after all.

"Kendall'll love her," Carlos said quietly, cheek on Logan's shoulder.

"I think so, too."

"James will, too."

"She's hard not to love. Just like her daddy."

"I'm too tired to appreciate your cheesiness."

"Let's go to bed," Logan giggled, moving to the makeshift crib of blankets and pillows in the corner of the room.

Within a few minutes, Carlos was already asleep in the bed, cuddled into the dirty blankets that he had slept without for so long.

"Room for one more?" Logan asked quietly, not surprised when Carlos nodded a little and scooted over. Carlos sighed in relief as he felt Logan's arms slide around him. That familiar warmth and security encased him, and he just had to snuggle in more.

* * *

**Intense, I know. Not much to say about this, I want you all to sort of make your own inferences about Carlos being all protective and stuff. And horray for Brooke being dead, right?**

**Don't forget to spam Theweirdblond. She's working on an English report, so just send her a billion PMs saying just "ELEVATOR MOUTH". I'm sure she's reading this and secretly cussing me out. **

**P.S. You guys can totally PM me and become my best fanfic buddy and I'll harass you, too. And we can fangirl about BTR and junk. :)**


	13. She's Like a Little Peanut

Kendall woke to find James sitting curled up in the corner of the room, smiling into space.

"Baby?" Kendall grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What're you doing?"

"Oh good, you're up. Do you know that it's Carlos' birthday today?" James grinned, as if in a haze.

"It's already August?" Kendall had no idea how James knew what day it was, but if it really was Carlos' birthday, he would want to acknowledge it- even if Carlos wasn't even alive.

"Can we make him a cake?" James asked, eyes vacant. Kendall fell puzzled, looking around.

"No. We can't."

"But if there's no cake, then he'll be disappointed. I guess your mom can bring one when she comes for the surprise party," James said dismissively, looking back into space. Kendall tried following his gaze, only seeing the top of the door there.

"James…?" he asked cautiously.

"What, honey?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"It won't be long before Logan calls to tell us they're on their way," James smiled. "Are you excited?"

"Jamie?" Kendall was afraid now.

"Wassa matter?" James asked, eyes shifting to his boyfriend.

"There's no cake and no mom and no Carlos and no Logan and no phone and no way to even know that it's Carlos' birthday and there's no surprise party," Kendall said lightly, brows upturned.

"Don't you love that? How we have nothing?" James' head tilted eerily, his grin widening. "We have… Nothing."

Kendall got chills up his spine. He had never been afraid of James, and even now he wasn't. He was just really creeped out.

"I mean- we had friends. They're dead. We had a family. They're gone. We had fame- that's gone. We had happiness. That's gone. And- and, Kenny, the best part is- we had SANITY. And it's all gone."

"James, you're creeping me out."

"I'm just stating the facts."

"You were fine last night."

"Maybe I lost it cause we've been here so long. Maybe I lost it a long time ago, and I'm just now allowed to show it. Maybe it happened when Carlos died. Maybe it happened when I found out my mom was here. Maybe when I RAPED Katie. Or maybe it happened slowly from sex deprivation. You know I love a good fuck. I dunno what did it, baby. It's much more fun this way. Come sit with me."

Although his body screamed at him not to, Kendall sighed and sat beside James.

"You've lost it," Kendall said frankly, allowing his boyfriend to lay his head on his shoulder quietly.

"I'm sorry I yelled," James said quietly. "I really want this party to be the best for Los, you know? He's turning twenty."

Kendall sighed and turned to kiss James' hair, deciding not to do too much to correct the man.

"I don't think it's his birthday," Kendall said. "I don't even know what month it is."

"But it has to be. Cause Carlos' birthday is a HAPPY occasion. And… And I'm happy now. I woke up happy."

"That's because you woke up mentally insane," Kendall laughed, laying his cheek on the head incasing the demented brain controlling James.

"Do you think he'll be surprised?" James asked. "I hope Logan didn't tell him. I know Carlos has gotta be suspicious and we all know Logan can't keep from telling him secrets when he begs."

"I think he'll be very surprised," Kendall said quietly. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't want to burst James' bubble. He wondered if the simple fact that Kendall was playing along meant that he was crazy, too. "He's never had a birthday party, you know."

"He'll be happy."

Kendall raised his head to absently stroke James' prickly jaw.

"Why do you go through so much trouble to make people happy?" Kendall asked. "What have they ever done for you?"

"It's okay that Carlos doesn't do much for me. He's a good buddy and that's enough. I just like to see people smile and happy, you know? Do you think the decorations look good?"

Kendall looked around at the imaginary decorations, which were really freezing cold concrete walls and dusty fluorescent lights.

"They look amazing."

Slowly, James began singing to himself. Singing the birthday song and giggling.

James had gone crazy. He had had enough of this place and made himself a new, happier place to live in. But the problem was… The new place was all in his head. Kendall wouldn't doubt if he was next.

"You're creepy as shit," Kendall whispered into James' hair.

"Mmm hmm," James said, sitting up to grin at Kendall.

"You really are scaring me," Kendall said softly. "You're insane."

"Yeah."

"Jamie… You know there's no party, right?"

"What if Carlos doesn't show?"

Kendall's eyes dropped and he shook his head.

"I don't think he'll be able to make it, honey," he said softly.

James' face dropped, but he nodded in acceptance.

"I think you're right," he replied. Kendall smiled sadly and kissed James' forehead.

"I'm scared," James murmured pitifully.

The simple two words broke Kendall's heart. James' eyes were so afraid and his voice was uneasy as he said them.

"I know," Kendall said. Somehow he DID know. He knew that James was afraid because he knew he WAS crazy. He was scared because for once, James wasn't the emotional rock.

James laid his head back on his boyfriend's shoulder.

* * *

Carlos was curled up on the bed, Annik on his thighs, as he offered her the bottle. He was skeptical when there was a warm bottle and food for he and Logan waiting when he woke up, but what was he supposed to do? His daughter had never had a meal in her life. Even with this in mind, she seemed to have grown impossibly since last night. She was only a little bigger, but it was a lot for such a short amount of time.

He had decided to wait for Logan to wake up before he ate his food. Maybe Logan would be able to tell if there was any poison in it or anything.

Annik felt the nipple of the bottle at her smooth lips and grunted, opening her toothless mouth and going on instinct as she suckled the formula from it.

Carlos was mesmerized, watching the baby drink the milk hungrily, blue eyes closed, making little grunting noises to herself. He was so into it, indeed, that he didn't notice that Logan had awoken and gotten up.

"Morning," Logan said softly, sitting on the bed beside Carlos. Carlos jumped a little and looked up at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. You just scared me a little," Carlos laughed. Logan giggled and kissed Carlos' cheek before looking down at the baby.

"Hey, angel," Logan murmured, running his thumb over Annik's cheek and getting a purr-like sound from her. Carlos couldn't help but notice how gentle Logan was with her. He wasn't even that gentle with Carlos himself!

The baby's eyes opened and Carlos' brows jumped. They were still blue, but not so milky. They seemed to be clearing up, and he wondered if she would gain her sight.

"I thought I was your angel," Carlos pouted good-naturedly.

"You'll always be my angel," Logan smiled, rubbing his nose with Carlos'. "But I call YOU honey or sweetie or baby or Los. She's just angel."

Carlos smiled, melting inside. Logan smiled too, for a while, before looking down again.

"She got really big," he noted.

"She grew to full-term in the womb in a little more than a week," Carlos said. "That's what Brooke told me, anyway."

"So that means she'll grow like crazy."

"Do you think… Do you think she'll keep growing and growing until you and me are only in our late twenties and she's an old woman about to whither away?" Carlos asked, eyes panicked.

"I bet she'll slow down as she gets bigger. Maybe when she's like five she'll look eighteen and she'll stop so her age can catch up."

"That'll be weird," Carlos said, unsure.

"I guess we'll see," Logan shrugged.

"Pit… What if they come for her again?" Carlos asked, looking skeptically at the door.

"Then we'll beat their asses like we did the first time," Logan said loudly for the cameras. Carlos suddenly shivered and scooted closer to Logan.

"I don't like it here. I mean, I didn't in the first place, but this isn't an okay environment for a baby. Especially one that's so fragile," Carlos said, black eyes full of worry on Logan's. It made Logan's heart break, because he knew his boyfriend was exactly right. Annik was the only one of her kind- a hybrid baby with both hybrid parents. She was blind and probably very vulnerable to disease… This was either the best or worst place for her. Logan himself didn't want her to grow up here in this lab.

"Look at me," Logan said seriously and waited until Carlos' eyes found his again. He reached up to touch Carlos' jaw lightly. "I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure you and her are safe. Okay?"

Carlos nodded sadly.

"And it's not like you're vulnerable to them, either. Los, you fucked them up. I never thought you could fight that way."

"Me either," Carlos smiled proudly. "That WAS pretty badass, wasn't it?"

Logan giggled and kissed Carlos ever-so-lightly.

* * *

"C'mon, James. We're going somewhere," Kendall said, getting up. Vincent stood before them, waiting. Kendall couldn't find a way to look his "father" in the eyes or to even get close to him.

"I don't wanna go! They'll be here soon!" James pouted. Kendall sighed and bent to grasp James' hand, pulling him up.

James pouted as his fingers intertwined with Kendall's and he was lead to and out the door.

"Hey! Your dad WASN'T invited!" James growled.

"I know. He has a way of showing up where he's not wanted," Kendall grumbled.

"I don't want him here," James whined.

"Shh- it'll be okay. We're going somewhere."

"Where?"

"Here," They had stopped in front of a door with a blacked-out window.

* * *

Logan and Carlos watched Annik fall asleep in Logan's arms now. It seemed like all she did was eat and sleep, but that was okay.

Suddenly there was a beep and the heavy door opened.

Before Logan could process anything Carlos was up.

"Kendall! James!" Carlos squealed, hugging them both simultaneously. Logan watched as Kendall's face screwed up in utter shock and confusion, while James looked angry.

"This is NOT where you're supposed to be," James growled, backing away as the door closed and Vincent disappeared. "Didn't Logan even TELL you to come to our house?"

Carlos looked confused, but hugged Kendall tight. He missed his brother to no end.

"Carlos… You're dead," Kendall said wondrously.

"Yeah- Pit told me that you guys thought I was dead. I have no idea what happened, but I'm not dead, so that's a plus," Carlos laughed into his brother's shoulder.

After a while, Carlos broke from Kendall to hug James.

"I'm so MAD! Stop hugging me!" James pleaded, but Carlos just laughed and fought the bigger boy to hug him around the torso.

"Why're you mad?" Carlos asked.

"He had a surprise party set up for you and you didn't show," Kendall said, voice insinuating to "play along".

"Kendall! God DAMN! You're not supposed to TELL him! Now it won't be a surprise!"

Carlos laughed and let go of James.

"Sorry- I got caught up here. Do you want to see my baby?"

James' face went from angry to confused.

"You had a baby?"

Carlos grinned and turned to the bed, picking up the baby from Logan's arms. She was freshly changed and currently in only a diaper.

Kendall and James gathered around to look in awe.

"The lady who cut our hair- her name was Jennifer and she was Swiss. They somehow got a hold of some way to impregnate her with MY sperm or DNA or something and I was taken here to be with her when you guys thought I was dead. I guess they did a C-section and she's dead now, so it's only me," Carlos explained.

"Woah," James whispered, eyes wide.

"Yeah. Her name is Annik Rosa Mitchell, but I think we'll only call her Annie. I didn't name her- Jennifer did. I think it's pretty, though, don't you guys?" Carlos grinned, not waiting for an answer. "She's got little white wings, see?"

Carlos spread one of the fragile angel wings to show the two-foot span. James, eyes, still wide, took the baby from Carlos and cradled her in one of his strong arms.

"She's a little… Peanut," James giggled hysterically. Carlos looked up at him, confused.

"Don't question it. He's lost it, Los. For real," Kendall whispered.

"Look at her, baby!" James said brightly, turning to face Kendall. Kendall looked down at the child in his boyfriend's arms- the child with dark skin, black hair, and impossibly blue eyes. "She's so little and cute! She's like a peanut!"

"Why is she like a peanut?" Kendall laughed, taking the baby from James.

"Cause peanuts are small and she's small."

Kendall grinned and turned to Carlos, who was also smiling.

The baby started making uncomfortable noises. Logan had told Carlos that he thought that since Annik was blind, she wasn't fully comfortable with strangers. Carlos seemed to be the only one she was fully comfortable with, and if she couldn't fell his touch or hear his voice, she was afraid.

"It's okay, Annie. It's just your uncles," Carlos said gently, sending the child into silence. James moved to look at the baby from over Kendall's shoulder and Carlos went to the bed to lay his head in Logan's lap.

Logan smiled down at Carlos and began stroking his hair as he watched Kendall and James with Annik.

"Hey, Pit?" Carlos said gently, cuddling up to Logan.

"Yes, baby?"

"I'm gonna get us outta here. Somehow. And if I don't make it out, you're her daddy. Kay?"

Logan stared into Carlos' black eyes for a long time, terrified.

"Don't do anything too stupid," Logan said quietly. "Cause if you do something to get hurt, I'll get myself hurt trying to kill them."

Carlos nodded, laying his head on Logan's shoulder.

* * *

**This one was short and sorta boring…**

**Calm before the storm. :)**

**Make sure you guys check out my new collab called "Come Run Away With Me" it's really awesome and I really love it, so check it out. :D**

**I've also been working on a bunch of Halloween one-shots that I'm gonna post in mass probably really soon. So check that out when it comes out. :D**

**P.S. Do you guys like the long chapters or not? Cause since I've been writing more I've gotten less followers and reviews and stuff, and I'm kinda confused. **


	14. OH THANK GOD HALLELUJAH!

"Shhh, Peanut. Don't cry," James whispered, hurriedly pressing Annik to his chest and bouncing her. He looked around, seeing Kendall sprawled out face-down on the floor, Logan and Carlos tangled together on the bed, all asleep. James bounced the baby and kissed her delicate black hair as she slowly stopped crying.

He finally sat on the floor and laid the baby on his lap. Her blue eyes opened, seemingly clearer than before, but she still didn't see anything.

James slowly started singing some old classical rock song to her, the baby starting to babble. She grew impossibly fast and already looked like she should be one and a half months old.

In the midst of Logan's dreams, he heard James' song. He woke up in a haze, Carlos fast asleep in his arms, and he lifted his head a little to see that James was singing to Annik. He placed a long kiss on Carlos' forehead, making Carlos hum in his sleep, before detangling himself and getting up.

Logan retrieved the cold bottle of baby formula from beside the door and shook it up. There were sandwiches there, too, but he wasn't too hungry. He found that he had adapted to the lack of food he was given, even though he didn't need a lot of food in the first place.

Logan sat beside James, who kept singing as he glanced up at him. Logan watched as Annik yawned and clenched and unclenched her tiny hands.

"She's so pretty," James finally whispered after the song was done.

"I know. She's blind you know," Logan said, offering the bottle to James. James pressed the nipple to Annik's lips, who hungrily took it in her mouth and began suckling.

"I figured that. But I think the color of her eyes makes her that much more beautiful," James nodded. "I changed her diaper."

"Thanks, dude."

"I like that it's rainbow in here. Even though she's blind you still make an effort to make it a magical place for her to sleep. It's a pretty nursery," James said, looking around.

Logan looked around, too, trying to imagine what James' insanity made him see. He imagined a nursery with rainbow walls and decorations, filled with toys and happiness. That's what he wanted for Annik, and he guessed that's what James wanted, too.

"I'm still mad that you didn't take Los to the surprise party I set up yesterday," James said matter-of-factly.

"Sorry, man. We got caught up," Logan said.

"Were you having sex?" James asked. Logan laughed and shook his head.

"No. We have a baby now- when do we have time for sex?"

"I wish I had a baby. But I think I like to fuck too much," James said. Logan smirked. Carlos would have probably scolded James for cussing in front of Annik, but Logan didn't see the point.

"I think Annie already likes you," Logan observed.

James beamed and looked down to see that Annik had a hand wrapped around his finger, which he hadn't noticed.

"Probably because I gave her a gift this morning."

"What did you give her?" Logan decided he liked crazy James WAY more than sane James. He just spoke nonsense and it was hilarious.

"A stuffed elephant. Cause elephants like peanuts and she's a peanut," James said proudly. "She seemed to like it."

Logan nodded, knowing that James didn't really give Annik a stuffed elephant.

"I just wanna give her the world. I can't imagine what you and Carlos feel if I feel this way," James said as the bottle emptied and he sat it on the concrete floor.

"It's pretty intense," Logan agreed. "I have to admit, I'm not ready to be a dad. But I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"It's pretty nerve-racking being an uncle, too," James smirked as Kendall sat beside him. He turned to his boyfriend. "Morning, gorgeous."

"Morning. Still insane?"

"Of course," James smiled as they shared a sweet kiss. Logan cursed his heart for melting at the scene, but they were just so cute. This damn lab had made him go soft. Or maybe it was the damn Carlos who did that to him.

"Los is knocked out over there," Kendall informed them, nodding to Carlos, who was curled up and drooling on the bed. Logan laughed and shook his head.

"It's okay. He's been busy with Annie, he's gotta be tired," he said. Kendall took Annik from James.

"Hi, baby girl. It's your uncle Kenny," Kendall said lightly so that Annik would maybe be less freaked out about the change in who was holding her.

Only a few minutes later, there was a beep and the door shifted open. Vincent waltzed in with his pair of guards, Vincent staying at the door as his guards went for James.

One of the goons jerked James to his feet, the other gripping the bases of his wings roughly and trying to guide him away.

"Time to go, pretty boy," the one with his wings grunted as the other lead them toward the door.

"What? No! Who ARE you? Kenny, HELP me!" James squeaked, trying hard to stop his momentum with his bare feet. His insane mind didn't know what happened- for all he knew, some dudes just burst into Annik's magical nursery and were trying to take him. Very violently, at that.

"Leave him alone, ASSHOLES!" Kendall said strongly. Frankly, he was tired of everyone trying to separate the all the time. AND he was tired of being here in general- this was his chance to get away and maybe they could escape. He had so much pent up energy- he was ready to get it out. As soon as he charged at the goon with James' wings, the guy simply swept a meaty arm out and sent Kendall skidding across the room. Logan handed Annik to Carlos, ready to have anyone's backs if needed. He was SO ready to kick some ass.

"AH! That HURTS!" James growled as his wings were squeezed and jerked. Kendall hurriedly got to his feet and started for the man again, but was once again swept away.

"Kendall! I've got these guys- get Vincent," Logan whispered urgently from across the room, knowing Kendall heard. Logan reluctantly picked up Annik's fresh dirty diaper and opened it.

As much as it repulsed him, Logan charged at the goon who had James and jumped, latching onto the man's back and pressing the open dirty diaper to the man's mouth and nose. Naturally the man let go of James, who was seething now and caught the other goon off guard with a powerful kick to the groin. Sure- he didn't know WHY he was beating this guy's ass. He told himself it was to protect Annik more than anything.

Meanwhile, while Logan and James easily handled the guards, Kendall charged for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vincent asked coolly as he caught Kendall with a taser. Kendall, pumped up on adrenaline from the sudden attack, barely felt it. Instead, he fought through the electric shocks to grip his "father's" neck.

"It's over, Pops," Kendall spat in Vincent's face.

"You're making a huge mistake," Vincent said strongly, hands gripping Kendall's. Kendall rolled his eyes and shoved his father backward, bolting out the door to sweet, sweet freedom. His bare feet beat against the freezing cold concrete floor as every sense he had bent on highwire.

He had to find a weapon.

"YOU LITTLE PRICK!" Vincent shrieked, running after Kendall, not near as fast. Kendall searched helplessly for any open doors, but realized he was headed for the door at the end of the hall, which was a dead end at the time.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-" Kendall whispered, seeing that soon he would have to stop and Vincent would corner him. As if on instinct, he turned right around, running straight for his crazed father. He was terrified and had no idea what he would do once he got closer, but he had to trust his instinct.

His heart pumped adrenaline, every sense heightened as he drew nearer to Vincent.

Finally it was time- do something or face the consequences- and Kendall still had no plan. Vincent readied his taser as he slowed down, but Kendall kept his momentum. Kendall found himself jumping, his wings snapping out, the very tips of his end feathers brushing the concrete walls, and he was well over Vincent's head. Vincent could have easily raised his hand and gotten his son, but he was taken off guard. Before he could think to do that, Kendall had already landed on the other side and was running for the open lab at the other end of the hall.

Kendall ran, adrenaline coursing through him as he neared the end of the hall. The door to the room he was just in was left open, but they were still bringing the goons down in there.

Finally he was in a dank lab that was rarely used and crashed through the metal furniture, trying to find anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Give it up! It's over, son!" Vincent said out of breath, as he walked into the lab. He knew Kendall was trapped and would either give up and surrender or try to run and get tased.

"I'M NOT YOUR SON!" Kendall yelled, flinging scalpels and metal jars of cotton balls at Vincent.

"You can't deny genetics," Vincent sang, the things hitting him harmlessly. He watched as his son rummaged around, flinging anything he could at Vincent.

Kendall was starting to panic. Vincent would kill him- if he didn't kill Vincent first. Right now, he couldn't find anything to use to his advantage. All there was were scalpels, dull surgical tools, and metal jars of harmless things like cotton swabs.

FINALLY he found a plastic box full of syringes, already loaded with mysterious liquids. He glanced back at Vincent, who was calmly sifting through furniture to make his way to Kendall. Kendall hurriedly took rubber stubs from the ends of two needles- the two that had the most liquid in them, which happened to clear. He had no idea what was in the needles, but he gripped them by the handles and hid them up his wrists, turning calmly.

"But what kind of a father does this to his only son?" Kendall asked, seemingly surrendering and trying to talk it out.

"Hey! I made you unique! I made you amazing! I gave you true love and friends!"

"I could have had that as a normal kid," Kendall pleaded.

"Really? You'd be willing to give up James to be normal? And Carlos and Logan?" Vincent asked, stopping just feet from Kendall.

"Well…"

"Exactly. PLUS, I've made millions of dollars off of you alone. Once I release my research on all of you, I'll be the richest man on Earth. And I'm not even done!"

"Or go to jail. The public knew about us- what do they think happened to us? They'll know you took us and did horrible things to us once you release your information."

"Wrong again," Vincent sang. "Technically I've done nothing illegal."

"What? Of COURSE you have!"

"Nope. You're all adults, and besides that I'm your father- which means I can do anything I want with you. Carlos is an orphan. Logan's mother is here. Brooke WAS here, therefore James was taken care of. And-"

"What do you mean she 'was' here?"

"Logan killed her," Vincent shrugged. "She tried to take the child, and so he killed her."

Kendall's eyes grew. He had no idea how James would react to this… James loved his mom. Before she turned out to be a phsyco, that is. And even when they were together alone, James would talk about how he missed her.

"It's hilarious how you all have lost it," Vincent smirked. "How your little boyfriend is absolutely bonkers. You are, too. How you thought you could escape."

"It's not FUNNY that James is crazy. It's sad."

"I disagree. Now come on- you're going to your OWN room now. Maybe I'll spare you for your little outburst," Vincent said, turning to lead Kendall back down the hallway. When he looked back, Kendall seemed to be following obediently.

Kendall had to wait until they were out of the rubble to inject Vincent with whatever was in these syringes. Finally Vincent looked back to make sure his son was there, then turned back.

Kendall walked a bit faster, gripping the glass of the syringes and positioning his thumb on the trigger.

_Now or never._

He lunged forward and stabbed both needles into Vincent's shoulders, pressing down hard on the triggers. Vincent yelled in surprise and pain and Kendall let go, expecting the man to fall down dead or something. But all Vincent did was turn, caramel green eyes ablaze, and he reached up to jerk the needles from him.

"Injecting me with penicillin?" Vincent smirked and flipped out his taser. Suddenly the older man tackled Kendall, taking Kendall off guard and bringing him to the ground.

* * *

Joanna hurriedly walked down the hall, gun in hand. It was time. This moment was the whol reason she was down here in the first place. She stopped in front of the open door that contained her son and grandbaby and friends, with knocked-out guards on the ground.

"Come on- get out! Hurry!" she said, taking them all by surprise. They all looked up, Carlos and James unaffected, Logan looking confused and offended as he jumped up.

"MOM?" He couldn't believe this! His own MOTHER was here- in a white lab coat- obviously in on this whole thing! He thought she loved him!

"GO! HURRY UP!" she said sternly, pointing her gun down the hallway for directions. She didn't have time for Logan to gawk- they needed to GO. Carlos didn't wait for Logan to get over himself, he took Annik and bolted out the door, James gripping Logan's hand and jerking him along.

"What're you doing here?" Logan asked as they ran, his mother beside him.

"Saving your life, honey! Go with it!"

She ran ahead of them as they neared the open lab at the end of the hall.

Carlos' eyes widened as he screeched to a stop, everyone else following. There was Vincent… On top of Kendall… Choking the life out of his own son… The taser on the floor just feet away.

Joanna raised her gun and shot, hitting Vincent's arm and sending Vincent to his back on the ground, Kendall free and gasping for air. She didn't want to kill Vincent herself- she wanted Kendall to do the honors if he wanted.

She helped Kendall to his feet and cocked the gun, putting it in his hands.

"Kill him," she whispered. "Before he gets up."

Carlos hid Annik's head in his chest as they watched Kendall approach his seething father.

A single bare foot planted firmly on Vincent's throat, who was calm as he looked up into his son's matching eyes, and pointed the gun at Vincent's forehead. In them, he saw himself. Strong, confident, slightly crazy. Except Kendall wasn't evil. And right now, Kendall was afraid and hesitating to kill Vincent, whereas Vincent wouldn't hesitate a second.

"Do it!" Vincent challenged.

"I will…"

"You're too much of a pussy," Vincent sneered, looking straight into the black eye of the barrel of the handgun.

"DO IT!" Logan demanded.

"Kendall! HURRY!" Carlos pleaded. James just stared, completely puzzled.

"I WILL!" Kendall said unconvincingly, seemingly flustered and afraid to go through with it.

"THEN DO IT!" Logan yelled. He didn't want Vincent to recuperate and turn the gun on Kendall. He didn't want their chances of escape to be dashed because Kendall was too soft to kill this insane man. They were so close to freedom he could taste it. Unless, of course, his mother had other plans…

Kendall gritted his teeth and squeezed the trigger before he could contemplate anymore.

The bullet lodged itself in Vincent's skull with a deafening bang, making Annik cry and everyone jump. Carlos had turned away as soon as he saw it coming, not wanting to watch as blood splattered onto Kendall's legs and shorts. Vincent's head rolled to one side and dark blood flowed from the wound. The man was dead immediately.

Kendall's lids fluttered.

He just killed his own father. Now how much better was he than Vincent? Even Vincent himself never killed anyone in his own family- as far as he knew.

"Kenny… Why'd you do that?" James asked quietly. Kendall dropped the handgun, which landed and bounced off of Vincent's chest, and turned to see James looking extremely puzzled and offended.

Suddenly Carlos' arms were around Kendall's torso, Annik in Logan's arms, and Carlos was hugging his brother hard.

"Thank god hallelujah!" Carlos said in relief. "You did good, bro!"

Kendall was too stunned to hug back.

"Okay, boys. Let's go," Joanna said quickly. She made her way to a dark wall of the lab and pressed a button- dark elevator doors opening. Carlos pulled Kendall and James to it, Logan following.

"I wish I knew there was an elevator when I had to save Kendall," Carlos laughed half-heartedly. Kendall got a last look at his dead father. GOD he was so glad- they all had wanted Vincent dead, but none as badly as Kendall. But he felt horrible- he KILLED his own FATHER.

"Mom, what the FUCK are you doing here?" Logan asked dangerously, even though none of them could see anything in the elevator as it closed.

"Logan!" Mrs. Mitchell scolded.

"I'm NOT fucking around. Why're you here?" Logan asked angrily.

"I've only been here a week or two, because I wanted to break you out. Which I did. So you're welcome," Mrs. Mitchell said smartly. Nobody but Logan knew what happened, but suddenly Logan grunted in frustration and there was a loud bang. In reality, Logan had turned and kicked to elevator wall in anger.

How could his mother betray him this way? If she knew he was there and she only wanted to help him like she said, why wouldn't she bring the cops with her? Did that make too much sense? God DAMN! His mother was the one person besides Carlos who could put up with his shit and still love him through it. He honest-to-God loved his mother when he left her. But obviously he put his trust in the wrong person. She ended up being just as evil as Vincent and Brooke.

Meanwhile, Kendall saw no darkness like everyone else.

He just saw his father's lifeless caramel green eyes. Saw the sight of Vincent's head with a bullet blown through it. He reached out for James, but found Carlos first and hugged tight to him.

"I know, buddy," Carlos said sympathetically, taking an arm from supporting Annik to wrap it around Kendall comfortingly. "You've got too much heart, you know that?"

Kendall wasn't sad that his father was dead. He was just… shocked. Sure, he always dreamed of killing Vincent, but when it came down to it, he was still taking his own father's life. He guessed once the shock wore off, he'd be able to be happy about it.

As soon as the doors opened and Mrs. Mitchell had stepped forward to unlock the sealing door that disguised the elevator from the Hollywood sign, Logan had stormed out into the bright California sunshine. He was too angry to marvel about how great the fresh air was or how much he missed the sun. Right now, he had to get away.

Logan stormed away and kicked off of the ground, snapping out his wings. It wasn't until then that he realized that he hadn't flown in forever and his wings failed. Before he could hit the ground, his feet caught him.

He tried again, and once more failed.

"Pit-" Carlos said, seemingly pained. He had handed Annik off to Kendall and approached his seething and emotional boyfriend as he tried to fly like a butterfly with a broken wing.

Once again, Logan tried to fly and got higher than the other times, but this time when he fell he just let himself hit the ground in a sobbing heap.

Carlos knelt beside Logan and pulled him into his lap. A GREAT start to a new life… Carlos tried to remain optimistic.

To Logan's surprise, Carlos didn't address his emotions right away.

"Look at the sky, baby. Didn't you miss it?" Carlos asked into Logan's hair, his arms around him. Logan sniffled and looked up to see a cloudless blue sky and nodded a little. Carlos grinned and kissed Logan's hair. "And the breeze… GOD I missed the breeze. It was stuffy down there."

Logan sniffled again, done sobbing, and cuddled into Carlos a little bit.

"Annie'll love it out here. We'll live with Mama Knight again and we'll teach Annie to fly out in the open. It'll be great."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah."

"Why was she there, Los?" Logan asked, trying to blink away sudden tears.

"I don't know. But I think she was telling the truth- that she wasn't there the whole time and she just wanted to help."

"She's the only person I could love my whole life before you. I didn't love anyone- not my old man or my other family or anyone else. I only trusted and loved Mom. And… And to see her there in the lab…"

"I don't think it matters why she was there. I think it only matters that she helped us escape and that she's over there admiring our little girl," Carlos said, gesturing to Mrs. Mitchell cooing at Annik from where she was in James' arms. "And that she's not trying to turn us in to news teams or another lab or anything. I think she's sincere."

"I guess…"

"But just think of it this way: that's that only con to this whole ordeal. I mean… Vincent's dead. Brooke's dead. Annie wasn't taken away. We're free. We escaped on a beautiful California day. And we're not going back."

Logan laughed and little and nodded.

"I think that if I didn't have you, I'd never see the bright side in anything," he said, looking up at Carlos.

"That's what I'm here for," Carlos said brightly, pecking Logan on the lips a few times.

* * *

**No, that wasn't the end. I think there'll probably be 2 more chapters. :D Just a heads up! **

**You guys happy that Vincent is dead?**

**I sure as hell am. Now I can write about happy stuff and love! YAY!**

**If there are any loose ends, make sure to tell me in a review, cause currently I haven't thought of any that I need to tie. **


	15. Almost Free?

James was awoken in the hotel bed by Kendall convulsing in his sleep.

"Kendall- babe- wake up," James said, Kendall's eyes snapping open as soon as James' hand touched his shoulder. He was in a cold sweat, heart beating fast.

For a few seconds, he was completely confused as to why he was in a soft and warm bed, in a comfortable Holiday Inn room, instead of on a concrete floor or a cot.

"Bad dream?" James asked quietly. Kendall nodded a little. It was the second time that night that Kendall had woken up this way, and now it was 5 am. "Wanna tell me about it?"

"It was just the same as the last one… I can't stop thinking about what I did to Vincent."

"I don't know your dad too well, but-"

"NOT my dad."

"I don't know Vincent too well," James' insanity had apparently made him bury his knowledge of Vincent, "But judging by how Logan and Carlos talk, he was a bad guy."

"He was. He was the worst man in existence."

"So why do you feel so bad?"

Kendall sighed. He couldn't talk about this with James until James was his old self again.

"I'm gonna go talk to Los," Kendall said quietly, getting up.

"Now?"

"I have to."

Kendall went to the door connecting theirs and Logan and Carlos' room, entering the other room to find just Logan in the bed, drooling all over the pillow and looking completely knocked out. Hey- they hadn't slept in real beds in forever! Upon closer inspection, Kendall saw a big lump in the middle of the bed, which was slowly rising and falling. Annik was safe in a little crib made of luxurious pillows and blankets, which she was used to other than the "luxurious" part.

"Los," Kendall whispered, poking the lump, which didn't move at all. Instead, Logan stirred and looked up.

"Kendall. What the fuck're you doing here?" he grumbled.

"I have to talk to Los."

"Why?"

"Will you just get him up?"

"He won't be happy about it."

Kendall was silent and Logan lifted the covers. He murmured something and Carlos murmured something before emerging.

"Lay down with me, babycakes," Carlos grumbled to Kendall as he laid his head right on Logan's slobber spot. "Awe- Pit. I put my head in your drool."

"Sorry." Logan flipped the pillow and Carlos laid on his side, back against Logan. Kendall sighed and unwillingly laid in the vacant spot.

"Don't fall asleep while I'm talking, okay?" Kendall said, facing Carlos. Logan nestled his face into Carlos' freshly showered white feathers and closed his eyes, his arm over Carlos' side as he drifted off to sleep.

"What's going on?" Carlos asked.

"I woke up twice tonight with nightmares…"

"What kind?" Carlos yawned.

"I just keep reliving what happened… I killed Vincent."

"Yeah. And for that you get eternal and unlimited Carlos hugs. Hell- right now you're involved in a Carlos sandwich."

"I know that it was the right thing to do… But I still feel like shit for doing it."

"Kendall. We're talking about the man who told your family that you drowned on a fishing trip when really he took you to a lab to mutate and torture you. The man who kidnapped you and your boyfriend and friends to do sick tests on us. The man who made your boyfriend rape your little sister. The man who somehow impregnated a woman with my seed and tried to kill my baby. The man who didn't give a shit about you even though you were his only son," Carlos said strongly. "I don't think you realize what an honor you had by popping a cap in that bastard's head."

"I KILLED him."

"My Logan killed James' mom and he doesn't give a shit," Carlos reasoned.

"It's true. I couldn't care less," Logan mumbled.

"See? Because of what you did, we're free. Annie's still alive and we can be a family. We're gonna go find Mama Knight and Katie tomorrow and we'll be with them. Kendall, once this leaks to the press, you're gonna be crowned a hero. You saved our lives."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. If you hadn't shot him when you did, he would have killed you for escaping and fighting him. He woulda killed Annie for being handicapped. Maybe he woulda killed us all, plus Logie's mom, and became a billionaire for all the shit he did to us. So really you saved more lives than you took."

Kendall smiled a little and nodded.

"It's okay to feel a little weird about killing him- especially since he was your FATHER- but I think the feeling of badassness and awesomeness and pride should overrule that," Carlos said. "Aren't you happy he's dead?"

"Fuck yeah I'm happy."

"Good. So just forget about it and focus on right now. Kay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Los. I couldn't talk to James about this, cause he's bat-shit crazy and doesn't even fully comprehend what Vincent did to us and why I killed him."

"Okay- time for you to go!" Logan mumbled.

"Pit," Carlos scolded before looking back at his brother. "Are you better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Love you, bro," Carlos said sleepily.

"I love you, too."

* * *

It was about 8 AM the next morning when there was a knock on Logan and Carlos' door.

"I got it," Carlos grumbled, rolling out of the bed. Logan was absolutely passed out and didn't even wake up. Carlos pulled his dirty t-shirt over his head and answered the door to see Logan's mom.

"What're you doing here?" Carlos hissed, stepping out the door and closing it.

"I had to clear things up with my son," she said seriously. "Can I talk to him?"

"He's asleep and won't be waking up for a long time. He's mad at you- like, a lot," Carlos sighed. "You really broke his heart, you know. He loved you."

Joanna was about to say something when the door opened and a sleepy and scruffy looking Logan appeared.

"Mom?" he said, obviously very confused.

"Will you go down to the breakfast buffet and get some coffee with me, sweetie?" Joanna asked gently.

"He'll be right out," Carlos said reassuringly as he lightly pushed Logan back into the door and followed him, closing the door behind him. "C'mon, honey. Find a shirt."

"I'm not going with her," Logan grumbled. Carlos had already found Logan's shirt and was putting it over his head.

"Please? It'll be good for you to get closure," Carlos said.

Logan sighed as he put his arms through the arm holes.

"It's gonna be a good day, Pit. I promise," Carlos smiled brightly, kissing Logan's cheek.

"I'm not so sure," Logan grumbled as he left. Carlos saw that Annik was still sound asleep, so he laid back down to maybe do the same.

"You don't have to talk, honey. Just listen," Joanna said gently as she and Logan walked. Logan was obviously reluctant to go with her, but she was just glad that he did. "I have been in contact with Vincent for a while…. He wanted to BUY you. Obviously I didn't let him. He offered me a job after you ran away, and I refused. I found out that you were at his lab and I was sure you would find a way to break out, but you didn't. So I accepted a job and tried to fit in with him and Brooke, but I think that Brooke was onto me the whole time. I was only there to help you."

"Why didn't you act sooner?" Logan demanded. "Why did you wait so long?"

"I was waiting for the right time…"

"Well you failed. The right time was right around when we arrived."

Joanna was silent as they reached the empty breakfast room.

"I only left because I wanted to be free. Not because I didn't love you. I hope you know that," Logan said gently as his mother poured herself a cup of coffee.

"I know, baby. You believe me, right? That I wasn't in on the experiments and the horrible things they did to you?" Joanna asked softly. Logan sighed deeply.

"Yeah… I believe you," he answered softly. "Thank you… For saving us…"

Joanna smiled a little and nodded. She wanted to hug her son, but decided he was still too fragile.

"The police are at the lab investigating now," she said.

"That's good," Logan nodded. Joanna felt like her son was still uncomfortable with her and didn't want to be with her now, so she had to come up with some way to get him back to normal.

"Tell me about my granddaughter," she smiled. Logan's face lit up and he grinned.

"She's amazing. Come see her," he smiled.

* * *

"I don't think that her blindness is permanent," Joanna said matter-of-factly as she inspected Annik's eyes. "As a matter of fact, I think she's starting to gain it."

"What do you mean?" Carlos asked.

"She was born this way because she is a hybrid. We don't know anything about her kind- perhaps all of them would be born blind. But do you see that her eyes are moving now? She's seeing blurs," Joanna smiled. Carlos lit up and turned to Logan, who was grinning.

"She's precious," Joanna whispered, kissing the baby's black hair.

"Hey, guys," Kendall said cheerfully as he entered, hand-in-hand with James. "Time to go find my mommy!"

"We have your phone number- we'll be sure to call you," Carlos smiled to Joanna.

"I suppose I should go back to Saint Louis," she nodded. "Make sure to bring Annik over someday to visit."

"Okay," Carlos smiled and hugged the woman. Joanna was glad that her son was with such a sweet boy and wasn't ready to part, but knew that there would be a lot going on and there would be no time for her soon.

She hugged Logan tight and kissed his cheek, then shook the other guys' hands and left. She had her own hotel room at another hotel to go to and collect her things from before she could go home.

* * *

Kendall was nervous but so excited as he knocked on the Knight's door. He stood in front with James behind him, holding Annik, and Carlos and Logan behind him.

It took so long that Kendall almost thought they weren't home. He was about to turn and leave when the door opened. There stood Katie, eyes wide.

Kendall and Katie stared at each other for a while before Katie's face crumpled and she slammed into him for a hug.

"Katie… Do you remember me?" Kendall whispered.

"They didn't erase my memory," Katie sobbed. Kendall tightened his grip on his baby sister as she cried. He himself found his chest tight with emotion.

"Katie? Who was-" Mrs. Knight began, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the blonde head. "Kendall…"

Kendall let go of Katie and accepted his mother's hug now. Katie continued to hug Carlos now- she steered clear of James… She was still very unsure about him. She had nightmares about him sometimes. Later she would find that right now James couldn't remember himself raping her, but she would always remember. She had thought long and hard about it and knew that he never meant to hurt her... But she was still scarred from it. Katie had already forgiven James for raping her, but there was still a part of her that was afraid that maybe it would happen again.

"How do you know?" Kendall asked his mother as she hugged him tight.

"You were all over the news after you disappeared- how could I not know it was you? You still had that same smile and those same eyes," she laughed. "And Katie told me all about what happened. I had a search team out for you… But they had to give up."

"We were under the Hollywood sign," Kendall explained as she let go and kissed his stubbly cheek. She didn't know who the other boys were…. Well, she KNEW, because of the news, but she didn't know them personally anymore.

"Come in," she invited cheerfully, stepping back. Kendall came in, followed by Katie, Carlos, Logan, and James with Annik.

* * *

Carlos was practically hyperventilating as he sat at the examining room of the doctor's office. They were there to get medically checked up, and although he was freshly showered, clothed, and shaved the doctor's office scared him. The others had already been check on and everything- even Annik. They were there confidentially and it was illegal for the doctor to sell information about when she found.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Logan whispered, squeezing his hand from where he sat on the table with Carlos. Although it had been three days since their escape and they had started to remend their lives at Mrs. Knight's house, they were still left with severe mental scarring.

"I'm scared."

"I know," Logan said, kissing Carlos' temple. It was only he and Carlos- James and Kendall had taken Annik exploring.

"Honey, there must be a problem with your paperwork. All I have as your name is 'Carlos'," the pretty young doctor said as she entered the room. "What's your last name?"

"I don't have one. I'm an orphan," Carlos explained, flinching as the woman sat her paperwork beside him on the examination table.

"Oh, that's very unfortunate," the woman said.

"I guess he would be considered a Knight, because we live with Jennifer Knight and he considers her son his brother, but he's a legal adult so maybe not," Logan said.

"We'll get it sorted out. It's unimportant right now," the woman said. "My name is Dr. Bell. I'm really honored to be checking you boys out- you're sort of a big deal around here, you know. It was a huge tragedy when you went missing."

Carlos jumped as the doctor slipped her cold stethoscope beneath his shirt. Logan squeezed his hand supportively and started conversation.

"The doc said that I couldn't fly when we got out because I still had holes in them from when I was tortured and pinned to the wall. But she fixed it right up and said I'm good to go," he said.

"That's awesome," Carlos said with a strained smile. "And your primary feather grew back?"

"Yeah- it's back."

The doctor had simply put two pieces of plastic in the holes, since they had scarred instead of sealed back up. The plastic looked weird, but Dr. Bell assured it would work.

After about ten minutes, the doctor stopped physically examining him and started asking questions.

"How much have you eaten in the past three days?" she asked.

"I dunno- a few pancakes and sandwiches… A lot less than I used to," Carlos answered.

"You'll adapt to the new availability to food like you did to the unavailability," she said with a wave. She snickered a little when Carlos looked completely stonefaced, like he didn't understand. "You stopped being so hungry while you were at the lab because you couldn't have food. But now that you CAN have food anytime, you'll get your appetite back."

She wrote some things down and asked a lot more questions about his loss and regain of hearing, weight and muscle loss, and a messed up sleep cycle.

"Okay. One last thing before I let you go," she smiled.

"What?" Carlos asked skeptically.

"Your daughter- she's a scientific breakthough and VERY special. Take care of her- if there are any complications, bring her in. Okay?"

"Of course," Carlos smiled.

"Okay. Well, you're done then. You're not in the best health, but neither are the others- you'll get better with time," Dr. Bell said as Carlos and Logan hopped down from the table. "It's a miracle we didn't have to keep you for observation or hook you up to meds or do any surgeries- your bodies have held up remarkably well. Take care!"

* * *

"There's my baby!" Carlos cooed as he found James, Kendall, and Annik outside of the doctor building. He reached for the baby who smiled at the sound of his voice and took her from James.

"Hear that, Kenny? I'm his baby," James giggled jokingly.

Carlos grinned down at Annik, whose black hair was growing and beginning to curl a little, her eyes able to see general images without detail now but not losing their crystal clarity, her grin just like her father's minus the teeth (which should be coming in soon) and who loved to laugh. Although she was much less than a month old now, she had the development of a 6-month-old.

"Da," she said happily, reaching up to touch his lips, which he nipped playfully to make her giggle.

"We found out that she doesn't like dogs, by the way," Kendall said. "She heard a dog barking in one of these apartments and started crying."

"Well she's a bird baby- I imagine that's normal," Logan shrugged. "Maybe it's the whole 'predator' thing."

Annik started purring in Carlos' arms, Carlos mocking her and making her lay her head sleepily on his shoulder as she continued. He shifted her so that her stomach was against his chest and her head on his shoulder.

"Can we go get a burger?" James asked hopefully.

"We have to go to an interview really quick," Kendall sighed.

"We've already gone to a billion of those," James groaned.

"Oh, come ON. You love the cameras," Kendall laughed as his mother came from the building to join them. "Besides- it's OPRAH WINFREY." They had gone to a lot of interviews since they got back, where they told their story, all about Annik, their lives now, and all that stuff. Obviously by now even James himself was sick of the cameras and publicity. Even now there were paparazzi people across the street taking pictures of them.

"It'll be over soon, boys," Mrs. Knight assured. "Let's just go, then we'll get some supper, okay?"

* * *

"Kenny? This… This is real, right? You're seeing this, too? We're on Oprah?" James whispered as they sat on the couch- James sitting on the arm of the couch closest to Oprah, Kendall beside him on the couch, Carlos and Logan. Annik was backstage at the moment.

"You sure are on Oprah," Oprah Winfrey laughed. They were on camera now.

"He only asks because he actually sort of… Lost his marbles a while ago and he's slowly coming back to normal," Kendall explained, patting James' leg.

"Wow," Oprah laughed. "Okay, so I guess first, tell us your story."

Kendall started from when they all met and eventually James took over, then Logan and Carlos.

"So basically what you're saying is that you boys have been from hell and back and you somehow came out together and with one more little gift?"

"Exactly," Logan nodded.

"So let's get her out here!"

The crowd applauded as a behind-the-scenes guy brought the screaming baby onstage. As soon as she was safely on Logan's lap and saw Carlos, she calmed down and stopped crying. Logan reached up to wipe the tears from her chubby tan cheeks and adjust her little yellow dress.

"So this is Annik?" Oprah confirmed.

"Yes- we just got her legalized and she is officially Annik Rosa Mitchell," Carlos said proudly.

"And why the unusual name?"

"Her mother was like us- she had wings. She was from Switzerland and didn't speak English, and while she was pregnant she told me what she wanted to name the baby. It was hard to understand, as you can imagine, but I got it," Carlos said. "Well she died when Annik was born, so I wanted to honor her by keeping the name."

"We call her Annie," Kendall added. "Except James- he calls her Peanut. Don't ask why- he doesn't even know."

"That's just adorable," Oprah beamed. "Can I hold her?"

Logan got up and carefully placed the baby in Oprah's arms. Oprah showed the camera her little growing white wings excitedly.

"So we see baby wings- what do adult wings look like?" Oprah asked. They all looked at each other, none of them wanting to get up to show the camera. Kendall nudged James expectantly and James sighed and got up.

He stood in front of them and spread his wings to full length. The audience gaped and applauded and cheered as Oprah gave the baby to Kendall and approached James.

"Wow- you're just beautiful," she sang, lightly brushing her hands over his feathers. "Look at this muscle tone!"

Oprah touched his muscular arms and James acted all bashful, but really the guys knew he loved it.

"How do you put shirts on with your wings in the way?" she asked. James turned around to show the audience and camera the slits in the fabric starting from his wings all the way down.

James sat back down when the commercial break started.

"Da!" Annik squealed, pointing happily at Logan. Logan couldn't help but smile a little bit, Carlos absolutely glowing. Annik had never called Logan that before.

"That's right, baby! He's your daddy, too!" Carlos squealed. Annik scrunched up her little nose and gave a toothless smile and giggle. Carlos looked up at Logan and his happiness forced Logan to grin back as they went back on air.

"We're back with the four extraordinary bird boys who have already shared a remarkable story." Oprah smiled to the camera before turning to the boys. "So tell us about the love that bonds you boys."

"We're scientifically compatible with our mates," Carlos said. "James and Kendall, then me and Logan. We all stay together because Kendall and I are brothers- not REALLY, obviously- and I guess we all just look out for each other."

"What do you mean 'scientifically compatible'?"

"My father, the man who kidnapped us and the brains behind it all, collaborated with James' mother to see if they could make gay a scientific thing. They succeeded. Now if James and I are separated for too long, we get these weird pains. Like stomachaches and migraines and just all together sickness."

"Yeah. And Logan was made to be a lethal weapon, but they realized that, well, he's a LETHAL WEAPON and could be dangerous to them. So they took me from my orphanage and changed me into what I am now and kinda screwed with my DNA to make me his match. We're polar opposites, but I think that's what's so great about it."

"Yeah, like I'm mean to everyone and don't really care about many people other than… Well, these guys and Annie. But Carlos… He has such a big heart. He cares about everything and everyone and puts others before himself. So where I lack in heart, he makes up for and where he lacks in mental and emotional strength, I make up for. We complete each other in every way," Logan said, smirking over at Carlos. The audience "aaaawed" and Carlos blushed a little.

"Yeah. What he said. He's my OTHER baby."

"That's sweet," Oprah smiled. "So… Is there any marriage in the future?"

"Definitely in the future, but right now our lives are too hectic," Carlos said. "Maybe once Annie's big enough to be the flower girl."

"So next week?" James winked.

"And you two?" Oprah asked James and Kendall. Kendall opened his mouth to say about the same thing as Carlos, but James interrupted.

"I dunno, I kinda like the bachelor life," James said smoothly. Kendall elbowed him and Oprah laughed. "I'm kidding. I feel like in a way we're already married. All we need is rings and a certificate. But most definitely in the future."

* * *

**Okay, that may have been boring but the next one will be just cute and stuff. :D So be excited! **


	16. One Big Happy Family At Last

**So I got carried away with this one… It's really long. But really cute!**

* * *

"DADDY!" came a high-pitched scream through the hallway as small feet padded down the shag carpeted floor.

"What?" Logan and Carlos groaned simultaneously from their big white bed. Annik giggled and jumped on the bed, trying to remove the pillow from Carlos' head.

"Hey, boogie! What're you doing up so early?" Logan roared playfully as he sat up and captured the one-year-old in his arms. Annik squealed and squirmed as her father kissed her short black curls. Technically she was a little over a year old, yet she had the development of a three-year-old. Her growth was slowing down lately- luckily.

"It's not early!" Annik said, pointing to the alarm clock. "It's ten!"

"Oh dear God. Los, baby, it's ten," Logan said, shaking Carlos, who groaned from beneath the pillow. Normally they were up by about eight, but last night they were up late playing games with Kendall, James, and Katie.

"Uncle Kenny told me he would teach me to fly today!" Annik said excitedly, climbing onto Carlos. "Will you watch me, Daddy?"

"Course I will, honey. I'll be there to help," Carlos said, shifting the pillow from his face to the back of his head. Annik lay on his chest, her little head on his collarbone.

"No you won't, cause she's not learning today," Logan said sternly. Carlos' head snapped his way, mouth in a line. "It's too dangerous. She'll hurt herself."

Annik's crystal blue eyes shifted to Logan's dark ones as her lip jutted out. Already Kendall and Carlos had tried teaching her to fly, yet either Logan or James would catch them before they got too far.

"Don't give me that look. We all know you're a klutz and you'll fall," Logan said to her.

"But DADDY!"

"Logan, she's learning today." Carlos said angrily.

"She's gonna break something."

"She's been trying to fly since she could walk! I think her attempting without knowing how is more dangerous than actually learning," Carlos snapped. When Logan's expression didn't seem to change, Carlos pulled out his secret weapon. "It's not up to you anyway. She came from MY seed- I have control over her AND you. You're not gonna win this."

With that, Carlos got up and pulled Annik up with him.

"Los! Parenthood is a PARTNERSHIP!" Logan groaned. "Let's talk about this!"

"I talked, you talked- we talked. It's over," Carlos snapped, taking Annik away to get dressed.

Logan sighed and plopped back down on the bed. Carlos was such a sweetie about everything, with one exception- Annik. When it came to her, Carlos had the final call on everything and rarely budged on his decisions. The only reason he allowed putting the whole learning to fly thing off for so long was because he, too, was a little worried about it. But now Annik was bigger and stronger and entirely too smart for her own good.

* * *

"Don't touch!" Mrs. Knight hissed, slapping James' hand away from the fresh bacon with her spatula.

"But…" James pouted, giving her a look that USUALLY worked. Then again, he only used that look on Kendall.

"You know that only works for Kendall," Mrs. Knight smirked. "Go sit down and wait."

James groaned dramatically and sat in his chair at the big table in the kitchen. He was the first one down here- which was weird because it was late for the bird boys. Annik WAS down here watching Spongebob with him, but she disappeared. Logan and Carlos were still asleep and Kendall was still getting dressed.

Suddenly the familiar running steps of a tiny bird girl sounded and Annik was suddenly tugging on Mrs. Knight's apron.

"Mama Knight can I has a bacon?" she asked cutely. Damn that kid and her adorableness- she got a strip of bacon!

"Hey! Why does SHE get some?" James groaned.

"She's cuter!"

Annik climbed into her chair and ate. James squinted his eyes at her, making her giggle.

"I know what you're up to, peanut. And I don't approve. I'm the only one who can use my cuteness to my advantage," he said. Everyone knew that she could speak perfect English- she only messed up her words to be cute! She's always been smart, but lately she's mastered the art of trickery.

To make up for what she had done (since Mama Knight had taught her about natural consequences for bad things) Annik tore off half of her bacon and slid it across the table to her favorite uncle.

"You're my favorite little niece," James said brightly, taking a bite of his portion.

"I know," she shrugged. Her eyes caught something behind James then and she grinned. "Good morning, Uncle Kenny."

James' head snapped backward to see a surprised Kendall right behind him.

"Annie Rose! You told on me!" Kendall scolded with a wink. He called her that sometimes when he was calling for her or scolding her- short for Annik Rosa.

"Sorry!" she squeaked, clapping her hands over her mouth. Kendall smirked and bent to kiss James a few times.

"You taste like bacon. How did you get bacon?" he pouted once he took the seat across from James.

"I have connections," James said as he winked to Annik.

"Anne, are you feeding my fiancé again? I told you- once you feed him, he just keeps coming back," Kendall said jokingly. Yes, just a few weeks after the Oprah interview Kendall and James decided that, yeah, they were practically married, so why not be ACTUALLY married? They didn't want anything big- they just planned to go to Vegas or somewhere fun to get it done and have a good time with the guys. They had been putting it off, though, because they wanted to be old enough to drink when they went.

"Tell me about it," Mama Knight winked.

* * *

Annik cheered and ran out from the porch into the warm pouring rain. Kendall joined her in jumping in puddles and slinging mud- their clothes drenched within seconds.

"Los- bring her in. She'll get sick!" Logan pleaded as Carlos stepped out into the rain.

"LOOOOGAN!" Carlos groaned and stepped back up a stair to look up at Logan, although he was still in the rain. "She's learning today. She'll be fine- you know I won't let her get hurt."

Logan let out a deep, nervous breath as Carlos pulled him down to kiss his rain-drenched lips to Logan's dry ones.

"Feel free to join us anytime," Carlos said before hopping off the porch and into the rain.

James stood nervously beside Logan on the porch, watching their boyfriends and Annik out in the rain. Kendall spread his magnificent brown-and-white wings, Annik marveling over them. She always thought the "grown-up" wings were amazing.

Carlos seemed to diagram Kendall's wings for her. You'll move this part at this time, and these feathers do this, and sometimes you have to stop a second to let them cool off and recharge.

Annik spread her own wings and practiced flapping them. They were vibrant white and about a six-foot span.

Finally Carlos picked her up and started running, kicking off the ground and taking flight.

Logan looked up to watch Carlos climb higher into the air. They had flown with Annik before- she loved it.

But when Carlos shifted her position so that she was facing the ground and said something into her ear, Logan panicked and kicked off of the porch to take flight.

"CARLOS YOU BETTER NOT!" he yelled over the roar of the rainfall. "DON'T DROP HER!"

Was he INSANE? She wasn't a complete baby bird! He couldn't push her out of the nest and hope she flew!

But it was too late- Logan wasn't fast enough. Before he knew it, Annik was plunging toward the ground.

"NO!" he screamed, diving for her.

"LET HER GO, LOGAN!" Carlos yelled. It made no difference- again, Logan was too slow. Just as Annik got about twenty feet above the ground, Kendall yelled "NOW!" and her little white wings snapped out.

Since she had never flown before, her wings were too weak to carry her too far, but luckily Logan had caught her before anything could happen.

"Are you okay, baby?" Logan asked, landing on the ground and dropping to his knees in the mud to hold her.

"That was fun!"

Logan laughed a little in relief and kissed her tan cheek. He heard Carlos land behind him- he knew because Carlos was the only one of all of them that landed with both feet instead of one at a time.

"Don't talk to me," Logan growled over his shoulder.

"I had it under control," Carlos said angrily, arms crossed.

"Yeah? Who was gonna catch her?"

"Nobody! That's the point! How else was she gonna learn?" Carlos snapped.

"What were you thinking? Her wings aren't strong enough for her to fly!"

Logan got to his feet, leaving Annik on the ground.

"I wish you would trust me," Carlos said through clenched teeth. "I'm her father- I know what my instinct tells me to do."

"I almost had it! Did you see?" Annik said excitedly, ignoring her fathers' arguing and just wanting them to tell her she did good. She pushed her sopping wet locks from her eyes to reveal excited crystal blue in them.

"I saw it, baby. Do you wanna try again?" Carlos smiled down at her.

"Absolutely not, Carlos."

"It's not UP to you!" Carlos snapped. "Jesus, Logan. I love you to bits, but you have to trust me here and there."

Logan set his jaw as he watched Carlos pick Annik up again and take flight. He didn't know what was happening- he and Carlos never fought like this until Annik came along. Of course he trusted Carlos… But he was being ridiculous now.

* * *

"Uncle Kenny! Did you see me? Did you see me flying?" Annik asked excitedly, tugging on Kendall's shirt. Kendall broke his kiss with James to squat down to her on the porch.

"I DID see you, baby girl! You did so good!" he grinned, hugging the sopping wet little girl.

Logan stood leaning against the house, hair wet and plastered against his forehead, arms crossed.

"Did you see her, baby? She's a natural!" Carlos smiled, hugging Logan, who kept his position. "You're still mad," Carlos observed, pulling away.

"Think so?"

"Don't get smart with me, mister," Carlos said sternly. "Look- you can't be mad anymore! She learned the basics and didn't get hurt. All she has to learn now is how to take off!"

"That's dangerous."

"Okay, look. I admit it! If you didn't catch her the first time, I don't know what would have happened."

"Damn right."

"And I think it's time we admit that we have totally different parenting styles. And I'll try to listen to your ideas- not saying I'll obey them, but I'll at least LISTEN. So I'm sorry I was an asshole, okay?" Carlos pleaded. "Do you love me again?"

Logan smirked a little and reluctantly pulled Carlos into his arms.

"I have no choice but to love you," he whispered. Carlos smiled and turned his head to kiss Logan's lips thankfully.

"I was still right," he said smartly, pulling from Logan's embrace before Logan could say anything about it. He picked Annik up and kissed her.

"Let's get changed and make some Ramen, okay, pretty girl?"

"Chicken flavor?" she asked excitedly.

"Of COURSE!" Carlos giggled. He lightly wove his fingers with Logan's as he entered the house, pulling him along.

* * *

Kendall had to giggle as his eye caught Logan sitting in the playhouse in the corner of the living room, Annik serving him fake food. Kendall, James, and Carlos were sitting around watching TV when Annik fell and started to cry. Logan got up to soothe her and nobody noticed that he hadn't come back. Until Kendall pointed him out in the little plastic house.

"Do you want… Chicken or steak, your highness?" Annik asked Logan, who was wearing a gold plastic crown. Usually this was Carlos' job, since he was smallest and most playful, but Logan was roped into it this time.

"I think I want chicken," Logan said thoughtfully.

Annik made some sound effects as if she was cooking as she put a little plastic chicken leg on a plate and a steak on another. Annik knelt on the floor, wearing just one of Kendall's shirts, which was a dress on her, and underwear. She put Logan's in his lap and hers in her own.

"Thank you, Princess Annie," Logan said nobly. "Methinks I shall feast now!"

He tilted his head back and opened his mouth, pretending to slide the whole leg into his throat, then pretended to chew and swallow- the plastic food sitting on the floor beside him. Annik burst into laughter- high pitched laughter that was the light of all of their lives.

Carlos got up from the couch to kneel outside of the house and knock on the glassless window.

"Ah! The adorable pauper- here to feast with us!" Logan said in his king voice.

"Shouldn't I be a king, too?" Carlos laughed.

"Do not question thy king!" Logan said in mock anger. Carlos rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"May I come in, your majesties?"

"There's not enough room!" Annik laughed.

"The princess speaks of the truth, my humble townsperson. The castle doth be a mere three feet by three feet! Perhaps you could sit on my lap as a throne?" Logan said, cocking a brow flirtatiously.

"No, Daddy! Townspeople can't come in the castle!" Annik argued, her crystal blue eyes firey. She got very into her imaginary games.

"But princess!" Logan said seriously, shifting to squeeze Carlos' cheeks together through the window. "Lay thy eyes upon the beauty and serenity of this poor boy and tell me you cannot let him in!"

Annik watched as both her fathers pouted to her, arms crossed.

"Nope," she said simply, shaking her head.

"HEARTLESS!" Carlos said dramatically, acting like he was crying.

"You made thy father cry!" Logan said in astonishment. "Evil WITCH you are, Princess Annie."

"He's not crying," Annik said boredly. Again- she was entirely too smart for her own good.

"Come inside, thy peasant, and I shall crown you my king!" Logan said dramatically.

"No! There can't be two kings! There has to be a king and a queen and a princess!" Annik said.

"Wanna be the queen?" Logan giggled quietly to Carlos from the window.

"Annie! There doesn't HAVE to be a king and a queen," Carlos said seriously.

"Yes there does! That's how Rapunzel's parents are!"

"But Princess Annie has not a mother, but two fathers!" Logan said seriously. "This kingdom can survive without a queen till thy princess marries and becomes one! In one HUNDRED years!"

Annik stopped arguing and just looked confused. She didn't even say anything as Carlos crawled in and sat on Logan's lap.

"C'mere, baby," he said, opening his arms for her to sit in his lap. She did so, not liking that her intelligent brain wouldn't comprehend that a made-up kingdom could have two kings and no queen.

"It's just like how you have two daddies and no mommy," Carlos explained, squeezing her.

"Why?"

"Why don't you have a mommy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, cause I fell in love with a boy instead of a girl."

"Why?"

"WHY? Because… We were literally made for each other. And honestly, could you imagine me holding hands with and kissing a GIRL? Baby, have you EVER seen a boy kiss a girl in real life?"

"She hasn't, has she?" Logan snorted.

"So… I grew inside you?" Annik asked Carlos, whose eyes widened along with Logan's. How did she know how babies happened?!

"No… You had a mommy when you were really little," Carlos said slowly.

"Where is she?"

"She's in heaven."

"Why?"

"Why do YOU ask so many questions?" Logan asked sarcastically.

"No- it's good that she wants to know," Carlos said gently. "Annie… You're mommy died when you were born. She was like us- she was the only girl with wings. She was beautiful- she had pretty blonde hair- like Kenny's, but yellower- and eyes just like yours and white skin. Her wings were just like yours and mine- they were angel wings. She loved you very much when you were in her tummy, and I wish she would have been able to see you, but she couldn't. So Daddy took her place, because I love him and I want him by my side to help me."

Annik processed this for a while, laying her little head on Carlos' collarbone. She knew a lot, but she didn't know what happened the first few weeks of her life. She didn't know that she was born in a lab or that she used to be blind or that she was almost "put down" like a dog. It wasn't something they ever talked about- it was sort of forbidden. The guys didn't want to bring up bad memories and they didn't want to tell Annik about it until she was much older. They would show her newspaper clippings and interviews and pictures then, and maybe she'd be horrified or maybe she'd be fascinated.

"It looks like Kenny's asleep out there- why don't you go take a nap with him?" Logan said to her, seeing that Annik's eyes were drooping.

Annik nodded and sluggishly climbed out of the playhouse. The two watched as Annik manually opened one of Kendall's lids, his head in James' lap and a crocheted blanket over him. Kendall opened both eyes sleepily.

"Can I take a nap with you?" she asked innocently. Kendall raised the blanket and helped her climb up with him. She cuddled up to him and watched the TV until her eyes fell closed and she was drooling on his arm.

"I love her," Logan grinned, chin on Carlos' shoulder.

"I noticed. You're like a totally different person when you play with her," Carlos grinned, turning his body to face Logan.

"I dunno what you're talking about."

"Baby, you're wearing a crown-" Carlos carefully picked the plastic crown from Logan's head and brushed down his black hair as he sat it on the floor. "And talking like Julius Caesar. You don't even do that for ME."

"What can I say? I'm a natural king."

Carlos grinned and kissed Logan's nose.

"And you climbed into this tiny-ass house for her and pretended to eat plastic food and you get on your hands and knees sometimes and play like you're a puppy and you even let her put makeup on you once," Carlos laughed. "I think you love her more than me."

"It's close, but maybe," Logan winked. "But you can't talk much. I KNOW you would save her over me if we were both dangling off a cliff."

"At this point, yes. Know why?"

"Why?"

"Because YOU know how to fly," Carlos giggled. "You seem to forget this."

Logan smiled a little, but it dropped once he remembered the argument they had about Annik flying.

"I'm sorry I try to control her life," he said, black eyes serene. Carlos seemed touched and he leaned his forehead on Logan's.

"It was a horrible idea for me to just… DROP her, though. She would have gotten hurt."

Logan rubbed his hands up and down Carlos' sides.

"But I think I'll always have the control," Carlos said.

"Why?" Logan knew he was right, he just wondered why he was bringing it up.

"Because you're my bitch."

"Am not!"

"Baby… We're sitting here, cuddling in a plastic playhouse because I haven't gotten up yet. You're my bitch. My softie lethal weapon bitch."

Logan chuckled and raised his chin to give Carlos an unexpected kiss.

"And secretly I love that you challenge me," Carlos admitted. "Because I guess I'm so nice all the time that I get a lot of anger pent up and I can take it out on you all I want and you don't care. You don't stop loving me for a little bit."

"I NEVER stop loving you. Except that one time…" Logan joked.

"I feel like I could punch and kick you and stab you all I want and at the end of the day you'll still sneak into my room, even though we're not supposed to, and cuddle up to my wings and sleep there."

"Your feathers are warm!" Logan argued. "That's why I do it. Sometimes I sneak my hands and arms under them to keep warm. You never seem to notice."

"No fair! I wanna do that!"

"Get Kendall to spoon tonight and you can do it. I bet he would," Logan said smartly. Carlos laughed and slid his hands around Logan's ribs to snake behind his wings.

Logan squealed- a rare occasion that really only Carlos and Annik had heard- and squirmed.

"You're hands are cold, little bitch!" Logan giggled.

* * *

Logan stepped out of the shower, white towel around his waist. He knew someone was at the sink, brushing their teeth, and assumed it was Carlos when he was showering- that's why he was okay with it. He was surprised, though, to see that it was Katie.

"Oh my god, Katie!" Logan jumped, grabbing another towel and covering his chest with it.

"What're you COVERING?" Katie snorted, tugging a brush through her hair.

"You couldn't have waited?" Logan snapped, tossing the towel aside.

"Carlos doesn't wait," Katie said sarcastically.

"That's because he's my boyfriend and he's ALLOWED to be in the room when I'm naked."

"I was just getting ready for bed- cool your jets."

"This door was locked, Katie!"

Katie shrugged and winced as she pulled a knot from her hair with the brush.

"My brother's being weird and told me to tell Carlos that there won't be any disturbances tonight," she said. "When I told Carlos, he just smiled really big and nodded. What does THAT mean?"

"Hm… I dunno," Logan said, picking up his clothes and leaving. The soft shag carpet hugged his bare feet as he walked around the circle that was the top floor to go into his room. Yes- technically he had his own room that he was SUPPOSED to sleep in, but most of the time he sneaked into Carlos'.

As his towel dropped and he stepped into boxers, there was a catcall whistle from behind. Logan, again, assumed it was Carlos and turned smiling only to be surprised again to see Kendall there.

"Mother of GOD! What is it with you Knight's and wanting to see me naked? GO AWAY!" Logan hissed.

"So um… Got any plans for tonight?" Kendall asked, leaning on the doorframe.

"Sleeping," Logan grumbled, pulling a shirt over his head. "WHY?"

"No reason. Just ah… Make sure you stay outta Los' room for a while, okay?"

Logan stopped drying his hair to look at Kendall suspiciously.

"Why?" he asked. "That just makes me want to go in there more."

"No, DON'T!" Kendall pleaded.

"Okay," Logan said in surrender.

"Uh… Annie's waiting for you. Los already tucked her in but you know how she is. Won't sleep till EVERYONE says goodnight."

Logan looked suspiciously at Kendall as he passed him on his way around the circle to Annie's room.

He had to pause and smile a little as he watched the scene in the little rainbow room. Annik was lying in her big bed, eyes closed, James kneeling beside her and stroking her nightlight litten cheek as he sang softly. Logan quietly approached, only to nearly fall over a doll house, step on Hot Wheels with his bare feet and groan as his other foot came down hard on Legos. James' song was stopped and he and Annik giggled over at him.

"Smooth," James snorted.

"Annik, you're gonna clean this room tomorrow," Logan said sternly as he carefully made his way over to sit beside her little waist on the bed. The room was full of toys that somehow everyone but Logan could avoid stepping on.

"I'm sorry," Annik pouted.

"It's okay, baby," Logan smiled a little. James kissed the girl's forehead and got up.

"We'll make sure she doesn't try to get in your room tonight," James said to Logan. "Not that she ever does."

"What's with you guys tonight? Everyone's being weird," Logan said.

"It's a secret," Annik whispered.

"Annie Rose, don't you DARE tell him," James said sternly. "If you need anything, come see me and Kenny or Katie."

"Make sure she wouldn't see anything she shouldn't," Logan said firmly.

"Yeah, yeah. Night, guys."

"What's the secret?" Logan asked Annik once James was gone.

"I can't tell or Jamie said he wouldn't take me for ice cream tomorrow," Annik said.

"What if I took you for ice cream AND to the park?"

Annik looked very tempted, but shook her head quickly.

"Then Jamie would be mad. And Kenny AND Daddy."

"Oh… We don't want Daddy mad, then," Logan agreed. He secretly knew he would go and get the "secret" from Carlos. "But is it a happy surprise or a scary one?"

"VERY happy. You'll love it. I helped while you were in the bath."

"It's a surprise for ME?"

"Maybe," Annik said mischievously. Logan wouldn't say this to Annik or Carlos, but he hated surprises. Always has.

"Well then I guess I'll know the secret soon enough," Logan smiled sweetly. "I'll see you in the morning, pretty girl."

He leaned down to kiss her forehead, lingering for a few seconds before getting up and pulling the blankets up to her chin and leaving.

* * *

"DON'T COME IN!" Carlos said hurriedly and the door to his bedroom was slammed back closed from the inside, although it was only open a crack.

"Why not?" Logan groaned.

"I'm not ready!"

"Ready for WHAT?"

After a few seconds of silence, the door was opened. Inside stood a calm-and-composed looking Carlos, who leaned on the door wearing only black boxers.

Logan had to laugh a little as he took in Carlos' appearance added with the dark bedroom, litten only with candles.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Logan giggled.

"Is it working?" Carlos asked smoothly, cocking a brow. Logan then got very confused- he could see Carlos telling Kendall and James about this whole thing, but if the end goal was sex… Why did they tell Annik?

Before he could think too hard, Carlos reached out and pulled Logan into the room by his waist and shut and locked the door.

"Do you like it?" Carlos asked hopefully, hugging Logan's waist as his boyfriend inspected the room. Logan was surprised- there were rose petals on the floor and bed, candles everywhere and the window was open, letting in the sound of the night creatures.

"What is this?" Logan asked, looking down into black eyes that had the reflection of dancing flames in them.

"It's Carlos and Logan alone time," Carlos said sweetly.

"I love it," Logan smirked. "But you could have just locked the door and ASKED me to fuck you- you didn't have to do all this."

"No- this isn't just about sex," Carlos said quickly.

"Then what?"

"I just want to be… ALONE with you for once."

"Then let's be alone."

Carlos smiled and pulled Logan to the bed. He sat against the headboard and pulled Logan to lie between his legs.

"I feel like we never do this anymore," Logan sighed, allowing himself to melt into Carlos' touch.

"I know, honey," Carlos said pitifully.

"I love you."

"I love YOU."

Carlos bent to kiss Logan's neck- right on the scar that Vincent had caused when he cut Logan's jugular vein during his torture. It was a gesture Carlos did often, reminding them of all they'd been through together.

Logan liked the way Carlos made him weak, but just that kiss made his neck go limp and his head roll to the side. Carlos' hand moved up Logan's chest and neck to caress his face, his other arm around his stomach. He loved that although Logan was the masculine roll in the relationship, Carlos knew how to do it, too, yet kept his gentle touch. Sometimes Logan needed to be taken care of and Carlos knew that.

"Can we stay like this forever?" Logan whimpered. Again- very rare and only Carlos ever heard him whimper.

"As long as you want," Carlos whispered, his hot breath warming Logan's neck. "But we have to be up for breakfast or I'll starve to death."

Logan chuckled and rolled his head back a little to rest on Carlos' bare shoulder. He felt Carlos rest his cheek on the top bend of his wing and knew he closed his eyes, soaking up the joy of the moment and allowing only the noisy sound of crickets and cicadas outside to fill the room.

"How did we fall in love?" Carlos asked. "And don't say science. We're so different. Remember when you were a huge dick-"

"WERE?"

"You're soft now- I think it was a combination of the lab and Annie that did it to you. But anyway, when we first fell in love, we were polar opposites. Remember? You used to say that I was an angel and you were the devil himself, and somehow we fell for each other?"

Logan hummed in agreement and to show Carlos that he hadn't fallen asleep.

"Sometimes I wish that I could go back and marvel over that old Logan- just cause I'm so used to you now. But I don't think I would want to leave you NOW- I love my new castle-playing Logie," Carlos laughed.

"I'm not going soft," Logan said softly but defensively.

"You even gave up being a dick to JAMES," Carlos laughed. "I think you're soft."

"It's your fault."

Carlos slapped Logan's chest just once in finality, snapping Logan from his trance.

"Get up real quick," Carlos said and Logan shifted to allow Carlos to get up and out of the bed. Logan scooted up to the headboard and took a red rose petal in his hands, tearing it up easily as Carlos rummaged through some drawers, sneaking something into his pocket.

An overwhelming sense of pure happiness washed over Logan as Carlos turned back to the bed, walked over to him, and straddled his lap.

"What's in your pocket?" Logan smirked. "You think you're sneaky."

"Nothing," Carlos smiled mischievously, biting his lip as he tangled all twenty of their fingers together in Logan's lap.

"Is it Hide Stuff From Logan Day or something?" Logan grumbled.

"Yes. It's a worldwide thing," Carlos grinned, kissing Logan's forehead. Logan grunted in agreement. "Know what I love?"

"What?" Logan asked.

"The way your feathers shine purple in the light," Carlos said simply.

"That's random."

"And the way your dimples show when you smile."

"Okay…"

"And I love how strong and sexy you are," Carlos added. "But yet you're so gentle and loving."

"Why're you saying all this?"

"What do you love about me?" Carlos asked cutely. Logan had to smile a little and shake his head.

"I love how adorable you are all the time," he said softly. "You're just… CUTE."

"I am?"

"But you're ALSO unbelievably sexy and badass."

"Really?"

"And I love the way your eyes always reflect pretty things- like the candle light and fireworks and stars."

"Do you see yourself in them?"

"Oh, shut up, goofball," Logan smirked. "And I love that you know I'm a lethal weapon and could just squeeze a little and break all your fingers right now, but still you argue with me and yell at me, because you know I would never do anything about it."

"True."

"And I happen to love how you smell. It's weird, but I do."

Carlos smiled a little and looked down at their hands.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked seriously.

"Nothing."

"Something."

"I'm nervous," Carlos admitted.

"Why?"

"Because… I don't wanna fuck this up."

"Los? You're scaring me."

Finally Carlos let out a deep breath and looked up at his boyfriend seriously.

"I love you a lot. Like- more than I love myself," he said quietly.

"Same here."

"And- um-"

"Spit it out."

Carlos nodded confidently and untangled one hand from the bundle of fingers to reach into his pocket.

"I got you this," he said quietly, holding up the small silver ring in his fingers.

"Oh, cool," Logan beamed, carefully taking it and examining it, seeing that it was heavy and made of pure silver with little outstretched wings engraved with a heart between them. "That's adorable."

Carlos' heart thundered in his throat as he took it from Logan and retrieved Logan's left hand.

"It goes on this one," he said softly, slipping the ring ever so gently over Logan's ring finger.

"It fits perfectly," Logan smiled, cocking his head happily. "Thanks, baby."

Carlos watched as Logan stared and stared. It only took a little while for his eyes to turn from happy to confused, his smile remaining.

"Wait…"

"Um… I was thinking that maybe in the near future… We could like… You know…"

"Yes," Logan whispered, enchanted, as he pulled Carlos' face to his and kissed him hard.

"Really? You will?" Carlos asked, pitifully relieved. "We're talking about getting married, right?"

Logan kissed him again, fingers shaking a little bit on Carlos' warm skin.

"I'm gonna need a yes or no, honey," Carlos said.

"How about an 'of course'? Or a 'fuck yeah'?"

"I was afraid I would be too nervous, but I shoulda known that you would know what I was getting at," Carlos rambled as Logan slowly laid him on the bed, Logan between his legs. "And I was afraid you would say no, but-"

"Shhh," Logan hushed as his lips hovered over Carlos' chest. "I love you."

"I love you more," Carlos said happily, not much affected by Logan's kisses, just beaming over what just happened.

Logan had to admit, he was disappointed in himself for making Carlos so impatient about getting married that he took it in his own hands. Honestly, Logan hadn't even THOUGHT about proposing. Right now, though, he didn't care how it happened, he was just so happy it did.

* * *

Logan's eyes opened sleepily to stare straight into happy and shiny black ones right in front of him.

"Morning, fiancé," Carlos said excitedly.

"Hi, Daddy," Annik said, head barely poking out of the blankets between them. Logan stealthily felt down his body to make sure he was wearing underwear, which he was, and so was Carlos.

"Morning, babies," Logan grumbled, rubbing his face and noticing that he was still wearing the ring.

"Are you getting married today?" Annik asked.

"No, baby," Carlos laughed, kissing her messy curls.

"Then when?"

"I dunno."

"Will it be in a castle like in Cinderella?" Annik asked excitedly.

"No. It'll be on the beach," Carlos said, winking up at his fiancé. "And you'll be the flower girl."

"You mean you don't wanna make it a double Vegas wedding?" Logan teased.

"No. Ours will be very high-class and beautiful. Nothing against them, but I want to make it perfect."

"At the beach?"

"I'd love that, but I don't care."

"It'll happen."

Carlos smiled lovingly as Kendall's head poked in.

"Everyone dressed?" he asked, eyes covered with his hand.

"-ish," Logan said and Kendall's hand dropped. He immediately went to Logan and pulled his left hand to him, admiring the ring and confirming that he had said yes. Kendall, James, and Annik had helped set up the candles and flower petals while Logan was showering- they were all in on it.

"Where's yours, Los?" Kendall asked.

"Oh- right here!" Carlos turned to the nightstand, opened a drawer, and slipped on a matching ring. "Look, baby, we're twinsies!"

Looking at their matching left hands, Logan's heart fluttered. This was really happening. They were really getting married. They were about to be one of two of the only married gay bird boy couples in the whole world and that made him happy.

Before anyone knew it, James was there and squealing like a little girl over the rings. He was yet to get his and Kendall's, but they were searching on the internet for the perfect set. Right now James was just so excited that Logan said yes and that his nervous best friend hadn't been too nervous to ask.

"Okay, c'mon you two. Let's go help my mom with breakfast," Kendall said, pulling Annik from beneath the blankets and setting her on his hip. Already she seemed a bit bigger compared to last night. He pulled James out of the room and winked at Carlos on the way.

"Can we have chocolate cake?" Logan asked cutely.

"Hm?"

"For the wedding cake. Can it be some kind of chocolate?" Logan asked. Carlos grinned and nodded.

"Of course."

"And can you wear white and I wear black?"

"Why?"

"Cause you're light and I'm dark. That's the way it is," Logan shrugged.

"I bet your wings would look awesome against a white tux."

"But I don't want you in black," Logan groaned. "It's not your color."

"I'll get… Grey!"

"That'd be pretty," Logan said thoughtfully.

"I'm so excited, Pit," Carlos said happily, eyes glowing with excitement.

"Me too," Logan smiled, pulling Carlos into his arms. He had been through so much with this adorable little man… He knew that he could face anything with Carlos by his side, and he planned on doing just that.

* * *

**Did you guys like the ending?! Gosh, I love it! :D**

**Make sure to review and tell me what you think!**

**And NO. There will NOT be a third part to this. Two is more than enough. I've grown to love these characters and know them so well, it's hard to have it end, but I think it went out with a bang, eh? **

**Keep an eye out for some of my new stuff and of course you can read my old stuff! I'm gonna go back and read Feathers and Needles again, just cause I can.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	17. BONUS!

**Surprise! You guys get an extra special BONUS chapter! I hope you guys all get to read it- I dunno if you took me off of your email alerts for this story, so I dunno if you'll even know this chapter exists. Enjoy!**

* * *

Carlos woke up in the guest bedroom of the Mitchell's house- Logan's mom and dad's house- to feel Logan in his usual spot behind him with his face and arms buried in his feathers.

Logan, Carlos, and Annie were in Saint Louis visiting Logan's parents for a few days. Annie was eleven in human years, but sixteen in "Annie" years.

"Daddy," Carlos heard Annie sing as she entered the room. She knelt before the bed, crystal blue eyes excited on Carlos. She only called Carlos "Daddy" and Logan "Dad", which resolved a lot of confusion.

"Hm?"

"Grandpa said that he would take me out in the city and teach me to drive today!" she said.

"I think not," Logan said sleepily, not moving.

"Dad, I wasn't asking you," Annie said hard-headedly.

"I dunno, Annie. You don't have a permit and can't technically get one for five years," Carlos said simply.

"Can't the doctors make me some papers saying that I'm sixteen in Annie years?" she pouted.

"Besides- St. Louis drivers can get crazy. I learned to drive here and almost died," Logan said firmly. "It's too dangerous."

Annie huffed and got up to leave.

"Morning, sexy," Carlos said cheerfully, rolling over to face Logan, whose arms sought warmth beneath his shirt.

"And to you, good sir," Logan smirked.

"Our baby is already asking to learn to drive," Carlos sighed sentimentally.

"It's fucked up. She'll be an adult by the time she's twelve. All the other parents get eighteen full years to enjoy- we only get twelve. She was barely a baby," Logan grumbled.

"Yeah- it's good that you have two babies," Carlos said cutely. Logan smirked and moved his head to give Carlos multiple "good morning, welcome to another day of being in love!" kisses before getting up.

"I miss my bubby," Carlos said innocently as he remained in bed. They had been away from Kendall and James for three days now and Carlos already missed Kendall and Annie was going nuts without James.

Annie and James were very close. When she had her first period, she went James for help instead of the logical choice- Mama Knight or Katie. They were all relieved that she was fertile, even if there were no bird boys to act on it. Not that Logan and James would let one get close enough to her for that. They discussed the possibility of a matching "soul mate" being made in secret for Annie, but decided it was impossible. Annie and the guys were under CIA protection from kidnapping labs- especially Annie, who would be gold to kidnap.

"Did you call him last night?" Logan asked, pulling off his PJ pants and slipping into jeans.

"Yeah. I still miss him, though," Carlos pouted, rolling out of the bed. Logan smirked and changed his shirt before they went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, honey," Joanna smiled, not to Logan like you would think, but to Carlos as she hugged him. She loved Carlos.

"Morning, Mama Mitchell," he smiled as she moved on to hug her son. Annie was already at the table chowing down on pancakes- she had her father's appetite for sure. Carlos sat beside her, taking a sip of her apple juice.

"I was thinking of taking Annie over to the city and teaching her to drive," Mr. Mitchell said. He was a retired Marine, so he was very muscular and clean-cut, yet soft-spoken. Carlos wondered where Logan's naturally angry attitude came from.

"No way, Dad," Logan said simply. "She's not ready."

"Or YOU'RE not ready," Joanna said simply as her son sat on Annie's other side.

"Mom, she's technically only eleven. If she learns to drive now, she'll get excited to get her permit and she won't be able to," Logan argued. "It's best for her to wait. Besides- where is she gonna drive that she couldn't fly? She only goes to Kendall and James' house or Mama Knight's for school."

Joanna sighed and gave up- she knew it was best not to argue with him.

"What do YOU think, Daddy?" Annie asked Carlos pleadingly.

"I agree," Carlos shrugged.

"But that's unfair!" Annie said. "All the other kids my age are driving and I can't? I think you guys just don't want me to grow up!"

"Annie- don't get smart," Logan warned. He could handle her backsassing him, but not Carlos.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Plates were set before her fathers, which Carlos dug into yet Logan left alone.

"Let it go, Annie," Logan said dangerously. "We'll talk about it when we get home."

"Don't start this, sweetie," Carlos agreed. "Not in front of Grandma and Grandpa."

Annie looked up to see that her grandparents were having their own conversations, but she got up and stormed out the sliding door and onto the back porch. Logan sighed and followed, not wanting her anger to make her break anything, like it often did.

"Annik Rosa Mitchell, you need to stop this," Logan boomed as he closed the sliding door behind him. She was pacing on the porch, looking angry.

"Stop what? Stop being right?"

"Look, you might be right, but we are too. You cannot LEGALLY drive for five years and we don't want you getting excited about it," Logan said sternly.

Annie stopped pacing before her father, her blue eyes challenging.

"Technically I can get a permit at fifteen and a half. I think you just don't want me to be happy."

Logan rolled his eyes- her number one defense, which used to affect him, but not anymore.

"That's what it is," he said sarcastically.

"It is!" she practically yelled. "You don't let me date, you don't let me drive, you don't let me fly anywhere I want. You hate me!"

"Shut up, Annie. I don't hate you."

"And Daddy would let me do all that stuff, but you're so stuck up about it, he's scared to let me!"

"Annie-" he warned.

"You're not even my real dad!" Annie said venomously. "You have no control over me!"

Logan's jaw set. That did it.

"You KNOW I'm just as much your father as he is," Logan nearly yelled in her face, gesturing to Carlos inside. "I've raised you practically from birth!"

"Know what, Dad? I don't have ANY of your DNA in me! None of your genes and none of your blood! So you can't tell me what to do!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"And you don't scare me, either! Yeah- you're a lethal weapon. But know what?" she exclaimed. "You're a- a- YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE!"

Logan's eyes widened and he could feel anger coloring his face.

"Go."

"Go WHERE?" Annie challenged.

"I DON'T CARE! JUST GET AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I DO SOMETHING I WILL REGRET!" Logan roared.

"DO IT!" she boomed back.

Logan started storming away, down the porch, when his daughter screamed something at him.

"I WISH I HAD A MOM INSTEAD OF YOU! MAYBE SHE WOULD LOVE ME!"

With that, Logan froze in his tracks, heart shattered. How could she say that?

The sliding door flew open and closed, Carlos coming out and grabbing Annie's wrist as he pulled her the opposite way. He positioned her against the corner of the railing and she saw a fire and seriousness in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"That was over the line," he said lowly. "You don't say that to him."

"I do! I DO WISH THAT!" she said loudly, knowing that Logan would hear from where he was leaning against the other end of the long porch, looking out over the yard.

"No you do NOT," Carlos growled. He had never yelled at Annie directly- only she and Logan together when the two fought.

"Yes I do! He wants me to be miserable!"

"Annik Rosa, look at me," Carlos demanded, forcing her blue eyes to his dark ones. "That man over there loves you more than he loves ME. You mean more to him than life itself and you know that. You ALSO know that he's just as much your dad as I am. Now go over there and apologize."

"No! I'm not sorry!"

Carlos glanced back over to where Logan was, but he was gone.

"DAMMIT, Annie!" he roared, storming to the glass door to see that Logan wasn't there. He knew where he would be, though. For twelve years ago- he knew exactly where Logan went.

* * *

Logan sat atop the St. Louis arch. Twelve years ago, this was his favorite spot to come. His thumb rubbed over the "LM", the "FUCK THE WORLD", and the stick figure with wings that he had carved there with a kitchen knife. That was back before he knew Carlos- before he mellowed out and calmed down.

He was very upset about his fight with Annie. He always got upset when they fought, but this one was bad. She claimed that she didn't see him as a "real father" and that she wished she had a mom instead of him and that he "didn't love her". Then she told Carlos that she really wished she had a mother instead of Logan, and that's when he left.

He didn't think anyone would find him up here unless his mom told them where he would be. But sure enough, Carlos landed gracefully on the arch and sat beside him with his feet dangling.

"Hey, Pit," Carlos murmured, still using the name he had given Logan years and years ago.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Logan asked.

"When we first met, you told me that this used to be your favorite place to go," Carlos shrugged.

"I've run away from my problems a lot here. This was my hiding spot, because I knew that here, nobody could get to me."

"It's a cool spot."

"Once when I got pissed off, I took a kitchen knife and told my mom I'd kill myself with it, cause she wanted to take me to the lab. She didn't believe me, so I came here and sat and carved this stuff," Logan said sentimentally, rubbing his fingers over the carvings. Carlos leaned over to look, smirking at the vandalism.

"Who would ever know it's up here?" he laughed. Logan laughed, too, then turned quiet and thoughtful.

"How could she think I don't love her?" Logan asked, hurt, knowing that Carlos heard the whole thing through the door, while his parents couldn't.

"She's a dramatic hormonal teenager. I was the same way," Carlos sighed. "I always backsassed the nuns at the orphanage."

With this, Logan smiled a little, still rubbing the carvings.

"Remember when it wasn't this way?" Logan asked quietly. "When… When we would play castle at Mama Knight's? When she was so young and easy-going?"

"I know, honey. But it won't be like this forever. I guarantee it," Carlos sighed. "And if it makes you feel better, I'M glad she doesn't have a mom instead of you."

"That makes all the difference," Logan said sarcastically.

"I guarantee she's talking to James right now and he's calming her down and talking sense into her," Carlos assured.

"Why does this happen all the time?" Logan asked miserably. "Why does she want to talk to HIM instead of you?"

"Because she knows I'll tell you everything she says," Carlos giggled.

"I wish we didn't fight like this…"

"Baby, you fight all the time because she was raised a Mitchell and she's exactly like her Dad. She got her stubbornness and feistiness from you, you know, and since you're exactly the same, but with different views, all you can do is butt heads," Carlos said. "That's my theory."

"I'm NOT stubborn."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

Carlos smirked and rolled his eyes at the irony.

* * *

Annie crawled beneath the blankets in her bed, her phone pressed to her ear as she waited.

"Peanut, I swear to God-" James answered.

"I did something bad, Jamie," Annie said, letting out a sob for breath in the midst of her tears.

"YEAH you did. You called me in the middle of something VERY important."

"Are you having sex?" Annie asked flatly.

"MAYBE."

"This is serious. Please? I need help," Annie pleaded with a sniffle. James sighed and agreed, pressing the phone to his chest to talk to Kendall and be excused. Annie soon heard the familiar sliding door and the ocean in the background, knowing he had gone out to the back porch.

"Wassa matter, baby girl?" he asked.

"Me and Dad had a fight."

"Big deal. You fight every day."

"But this time I fucked everything up and he hates me," Annie sobbed. "And I don't know how to fix it and I'm scared."

"Just take a few breaths and tell me what happened, Peanut."

Annie took a few breaths and spoke.

"It was such a dumb fight… But long story short, I told him he wasn't my real dad and I wished I had a mom instead of him and that he didn't love me," she said, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. She wished James was there to hug her and wipe away her tears, but he wasn't. Usually when she and Logan fought, she flew to James and Kendall's and talked it out with them, but she was across the country from them now.

"Oh, honey. You should stop arguing with him- he's a lethal weapon."

"I didn't mean any of it," she sobbed. "And even Daddy yelled at me for it. Like I didn't feel bad enough."

"You just have to go and tell your dad that you didn't mean it."

"I don't think he'd listen. I think it either made him really sad or really mad, and he hates me now."

"He doesn't HATE you, baby. You mean more to him than anything."

"It'd be better if I wasn't here."

"What?"

"I'm just a bitch to them- without me, they could be like you and Kendall. They could have sex all the time and do whatever they wanted and there would be no fighting," Annie sniffled. "I ruined their love life."

"You did NOT. They love you to death, and I dunno what would happen if you were gone. Annie, listen to me. Are you listening?"

"I'm listening," Annie sniffled.

"Find him and tell him everything you just told me. Okay? He doesn't hate you- he's your father. He loves you more than anything, no matter how much you hurt him. And wherever Logan is, I'm sure Carlos is, too, and he'll help you out. Okay?"

Annie took a deep breath and wiped away her tears.

"Okay, Jamie."

"Okay. Love you, Peanut. I'm sorry you're having a hard time."

"Love you."

With that, the line went dead and Annie was left in silence.

* * *

"I've hidden on all of these buildings," Logan said, gesturing to the tall buildings of St. Louis. "And on top of that bridge there."

"Hid from what?" Carlos asked.

"My problems. Mostly I hid from Mom when she wanted to take me to the lab, because as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was scared of the lab. Sometimes I hid from my dad when he came home. He's never done anything to hurt me physically or verbally, but I used to think that he hated me because I was a mutant. Once I came here because I accidentally caught my neighbor's yard on fire and I didn't want them to know it was me," Logan explained.

Logan heard a _tap tap _of feet and he looked behind them to see Annie landing, her glorious white wings folding up again. He said nothing- just faced forward again as Carlos looked back at her.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Grandma said you'd be up here," she said quietly, not moving to sit or anything- just stood there.

When nobody said anything and Logan didn't even look at her, she sighed and sat were she stood, hugging her knees.

"I know you both hate me… So when we get back to California, I'll be happy to move in with Jamie and Kendall or maybe Mama Knight," she said quietly. "I'll be outta your hair."

Carlos turned to her, reaching out for her. Annie sat between her fathers like a kicked puppy and Carlos wrapped his arms around her, his cheek on her hair.

"I just need a day to pack," she said.

"We don't hate you, baby. You know that," Carlos said, looking at Logan, who was silent as he stared down at the grass below them.

"I went way over the line just to win a fight. And I just wanted to say that I didn't mean any of it," she sniffled. "I love you, Dad, and it's not good for us to fight like this," Logan sighed to himself, knowing she was talking to him. "I think it'd be better if I wasn't there all the time, so then you couldn't get mad at me."

"I don't want you to move out," he grumbled. "Yeah, you're a pain in my ass. But at the end of the day, you're still my daughter and I still check on you before I go to bed to make sure you're safe in your room and I still love you. It's like Kendall. He's the biggest pain in my ass, but what am I gonna do? He's my husband's brother and my daughter's uncle- I have no choice but to love him."

"You check on me?"

"Of course. Even when your Daddy and I fight and I'm sleeping on the couch, I check on him to make sure he's okay," Logan shrugged. "It's my job."

"We would never want you to move out. You're only sixteen- you're still a baby," Carlos said, still hugging her. "You can stay with us till you're a hundred, and we'd be happy. No matter how much you fight us."

Annie cuddled into her father's caring touch, tears spilling from her closed eyes.

"I didn't mean that I wanted a mom instead of you, Dad," she said, knowing Logan could hear. "All I've ever known my whole life was two dads, and I love it. I think Daddy's close enough to a mom, anyway."

This made Carlos giggle and shake his head. It was true- Carlos was the one who gave her hugs and made her dinner and cleaned the house and had deep, emotional talks with her.

"And I know that you DO love me. Jamie told me that. And Daddy. And I already knew. I know you work really hard to show me that and some of it I don't even see. Like the thing with the checking on me at night," she said. "That was dumb of me to say."

"It was," Logan agreed.

"And I think the stupidest thing I've ever said was that you aren't my real dad," she said, looking up at him to see that his eyes were on her. "I've never known anything else but two dads. You raised me from birth, save like a day. It's unfair for me to say that you're not my real dad, but Uncle Kendall is my real uncle- he's not blood, either. I think what I lack in your genes, I make up for in being just like you."

Logan smirked a little, since Carlos was just talking about how she was just like him.

"But you know that I never mean anything I say when we fight. My anger takes advantage of me and I can't control it. So I'm sorry."

Logan smiled a little and nodded.

"Me, too."

"Why?"

"I really don't want you to grow up, and that's why I'm so strict. And I'm sorry I yell at you- I know it can get scary, but I'll never hurt you, no matter how much I want to."

"I know."

"We just don't wanna lose that adorable little bird girl you used to be- who had the biggest blue eyes and the cutest black curls," Carlos said.

"It's not easy for ME to grow up this fast, either!" Annie said in defense. "I don't get to go to school or make best friends or legally drink."

Carlos laughed and kissed her hair. She looked at Logan, anxious to see if he forgave her or not.

"Tell you what," he smiled. "When you get to be about twenty-one in Annie years, we'll have a little drinking party at home. I'm sure your uncles could show you a thing or two about drinking games."

Annie laughed as Logan took her under his arm and pulled her to him, kissing her hair.

"Love you, baby girl," he said.

"Love you, too," she murmured

"Hey, Pit?" Carlos asked.

"Hm?"

"Remember when we just met and you absolutely HATED me?" Carlos smirked. "Because I was too 'handsy'?"

Logan laughed and shook his head sentimentally.

"And when you bet a kiss on who won that stupid video game, and you won, but I chickened out?" he said.

"And you felt bad, so you came to my room and saw me naked in the shower?"

"For the record, I didn't see anything."

"And you were too scared to kiss me, so I had to do it myself?" Carlos smirked.

"Oh hey- here's a fun memory!" Logan said sarcastically. "Remember that time you made me fall in love with you, then you told me you had a bomb in you that would blow up the next day? Good times!"

"What? Seriously?" Annie asked, eyes wide.

"That's another story for another day," Carlos waved. "Just like the story of when your father and I got shot in Nebraska and I almost died."

"My gosh! Tell me!" Annie pleaded.

"Or the time we went to Vegas and you gambled away all our money?" Logan laughed.

"What?"

"All this happened when we were just falling in love," Carlos said sentimentally. "That was such a great time- but the ending was gonna be horrible."

"I wanna hear this story!"

"I didn't even get to eat my pancakes- I'm starving," Logan said, getting up. "Let's go back."

"Wait- did you do this?" Annie asked, noticing the carvings on the arch.

"Yeah. When I was a teenager, I used to hide here," Logan nodded, helping Carlos up.

"Oh- like I hide in Kendall and Jamie's attic?"

Logan and Carlos cocked their brows at their daughter.

"So THAT'S where you go," Carlos noted.

"Shit," she grumbled.

"Don't say shit," Logan said simply. Annie smirked and jumped off the arch without hesitation.

"She's quite a character," Carlos smirked as Logan took him in his arms and kissed his nose.

"Wonder where she gets THAT from," Logan retorted. Carlos giggled as Logan kissed him before breaking the hug and shoving his husband off of the Gateway Arch mercilessly.

He looked down to watch Carlos fall, but was surprised to see nothing.

"Los?" he called. Just then, there were hands on his shoulders shoving him. He went tumbling into the air before his marvelous black wings snapped out and he and Carlos played in the air, just like when they were teenagers.

* * *

**Make sure to review! I love this bonus chapter, I dunno why. :)**


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